According to a recent report from the World Meteorological Organization, the Asian region was warming more quickly than the global average, and the economic losses from the resulting extreme weather events, like floods and droughts, totaled more than US$35 billion in 2021, including at least US$ 7.5 billion in India.
Over Asia, average temperatures in 2021 were almost 0.86 degrees Celsius warmer than they were on average between 1981 and 2010. According to the WMO’s State of Climate in Asia study, the average global temperature in 2021 was just 0.42 degrees Celsius higher than the period from 1981 to 2010.
Due to a lack of sufficient data, the WMO does not measure regional warming using temperature increases relative to the pre-industrial era. Instead, the temperature increases are displayed in relation to more recent 30-year time periods.
Due to La Nina, 2021 was cooler for Asia than it was for 2020
Due to the protracted La Nina, 2021 was somewhat cooler for Asia than it was for 2020, although it was still one of the five to seven warmest years on record. The research noted that 2021 was the warmest year on record in China, Hong Kong, and Bahrain.
In Asia, there were more than 100 weather-related disasters in 2021, resulting in over 4,000 fatalities and at least US$ 35.6 billion in economic losses. Droughts affected the most people, while floods caused the most destruction and fatalities.
According to WMO research, the trend of economic losses due to extreme weather events is upward. For instance, drought losses in 2021 were at least 63 percent more than they were on average over the previous 20 years. Flood-related losses were 23% higher.
“In 2021, flooding caused the highest economic losses in China (US$ 18.4 billion), followed by India (US$ 3.2 billion) and Thailand (US$ 0.6 billion). Storms (Cyclones) also caused significant economic damage, especially in India (US$ 4.4 billion), China (US$ 3.0 billion), and Japan (US$ 2 billion),” the report said.
As a result, countries would have to invest more money in resilience and adaptation projects.
