LIMA—Among 160 countries, the Philippines emerged as the most affected country by extreme weather conditions in 2013 such as intense floods, droughts and fiercer typhoons, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2015 by the Germany-based environmental think tank Germanwatch.
Launched on Tuesday during the two-week United Nations climate change talks in the Peruvian capital, the study highlighted the extreme weather calamities such that magnitude of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 in the Philippines which inflicted over $13 billion in economic loss and more than 6,000 deaths. Haiyan was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to hit land.
“ This is a record-breaking catastrophe in 2013. The Philippines was severely impacted and that many people were struggling there for their lives,” said Sonke Kreft, author of the study.
Kreft explained that the risk index analyzes the quantified impacts of extreme weather events both in terms of fatalities as well as economic losses that has been gathered, adding that the study should serve as a warning that they are at risk for either frequent events or rare, but extraordinary catastrophes.
“ This new risk index only revealed that poor and vulnerable countries like the Philippines are the least capable in protecting themselves. Climate negotiators in Lima must realize that there is a need to urgently address climate change in terms of reducing emissions, delivering financial and technology transfer to poorer nations,” Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez told Philippine EnviroNews.
Alvarez added that while the Philippines is not a significant emitter, it has a “survival stake” in the outcome of the Lima conference leading to a climate deal in Paris in 2015.
The report also noted that Cambodia ranked second as the most vulnerable country to extreme weather events followed by India.
Cambodia’s ranking is connected with 2013’s particularly severe monsoon season, which induced heavy rainfall and widespread flooding throughout a country that was still recovering from the damage of previous year’s floods, the report said.
India, on the other hand, was the victim of Cyclone Phailin in October 2013, which was the second largest cyclone to ever strike in the country. Phailin slammed the coastline of the Bay of Bengal, leaving behind extensive flooding that destroyed US$4 billion of crops in the heavily agricultural-based country.
Other countries in the top 10 are Mexico, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Pakistan, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Argentina and Mozambique.
According to the study, more than 530,000 people died worldwide and losses of US$2.17 trillion were inflicted as a direct result of over 15,000 extreme weather events between 1994 and 2013.
“ The climate talks here in Lima can spur action in these vulnerable countries and facilitate international support,” Kreft said.
Text and photos by Imelda Abano