KATHMANDU, Oct 16: A recent scientific study has uncovered the alarming cost of climate change, estimating that approximately Rs 2.13 billion (equivalent to 10.6 million US dollars) is being lost every hour due to extreme weather events caused by rising global temperatures. This study marks the first comprehensive estimate of the economic damage resulting from human-induced climate change.
The research has revealed that this significant financial loss is attributed to a 20-year period from 2000 to 2019, characterized by severe storms, floods, and heatwaves. Employing the Extreme Event Attribution (EEA) method, this review assessed the influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on extreme weather events and quantified their associated social and economic costs.
The EEA method involves a detailed analysis of the intricate connections between human-caused climate change and the intensity of extreme weather events, utilizing climate modeling tools. Originally introduced in 2003 to assess heatwave-related deaths in France, this methodology has gained popularity in recent years.
The study report highlights the fact that climate change is responsible for an annual loss of $143 billion. It underscores the substantial impact on human lives, with nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of these losses attributed to human casualties.
The remaining one-third of losses pertains to property damage and other economic costs. Within this comprehensive assessment, the most significant contributors to overall losses were sea storms and cyclones, accounting for nearly two-thirds, followed by hot air (16 percent), and floods and famines (10 percent).
While the yearly losses varied between 2000 and 2019, the study concludes that the average annual loss stood at $143 billion. In 2022, the highest recorded loss was $280 billion. It is important to note that these estimates may still underestimate the actual losses, particularly due to insufficient data from low-income countries.
The study focuses on direct economic losses and does not encompass the costs associated with declining crop yields and rising sea levels. Over the last two decades, extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis have impacted 1.2 billion people.
The study underlines the rising toll of climate change-induced disasters, highlighting that compared to the 1970s, the damage caused by such events has surged sevenfold. It further underscores that losses have intensified due to population growth and internal migration, concentrating more people in urban areas and coastal regions.
Among the data included in the study, 60,951 civilian deaths were attributed to climate change. With the establishment of a damage fund discussed at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference (COP-27), the research suggests that this assessment could aid poorer countries in securing the financial support required to mitigate the impact of disasters.
The study also emphasizes the significance of such findings in determining the immediate costs of each disaster and facilitating the prompt allocation of funds, especially in the context of limited data on the number of fatalities and economic losses resulting from extreme weather events worldwide. Researchers, including Ilan Noy from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, believe that these study results could help streamline financial aid for disaster recovery.