Heavy rainfalls in the Arabian Peninsula in recent times have indicated that the climate crisis is becoming worse in Asia! Now, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics, has mentioned in its newly published report that Asia witnessed the maximum number of climate, weather and water-related disasters in 2023!

From heat waves to floods and storms – Climate Change has caused various natural disasters, increasing the number and severity of catastrophes across the globe! However, Asia is the worst sufferer as the largest continent in the world (by both land area and population) is getting warm faster than the global average because of greenhouse gases. Intense heat waves have badly hit China, South Asia and Southeast Asia, affecting about one-third of the global population.

As per the WMO report titled ‘State of the Climate in Asia‘, there were 79 water-related disasters in 2023, and the majority of them were floods and storms. Those disasters affected nine million people, apart from claiming more than 2,000 lives! Warming increased evaporation, as well as the amount of moisture in the air, triggering heavy rainfalls in many places. Sea surface temperatures, too, reached a record high in 2023. According to researchers, heat released from warm oceans increased the strength of tropical storms. Furthermore, melting of glaciers because of Global Warming has raised sea levels, increasing the risk of flooding in coastal areas.

These pieces of information are of particular concern for India as the eccentricity of nature has endangered not only the coastal areas or the mountains, but also the plains! Although the top political leadership in India has discussed sustainable development and green economy, it has ignored issues related to heat waves, heavy rains and floods. Ahead of Parliamentary Elections (being held from April 19 to June 1, 2024 in seven phases), the Indians thought that the politicians would address Climate Change-related issues, such as unprecedented heat waves, melting of glaciers and rising sea levels. Perhaps, the Indian political leaders have failed to realise that urgent attention, effective policies and adaptation strategies are required to address these emerging issues. Local administrations and communities can also be empowered to determine the necessary resources and policies to deal properly with natural disasters in a vast country like India.

Developing Nations in Asia are experiencing the adverse effects of Climate Change due to lack of adequate infrastructure. Hence, financial support from Developed Nations has become essential for them. Asia also has its own energy security needs, which are different from other Developing Nations. As a result, Asian countries cannot be included in the same category with those countries when it comes to Climate Change prevention goals.

Meanwhile, the latest WMO report has clearly mentioned that the results of efforts made by different countries to prevent Climate Change are not at all satisfactory. The UN organisation has warned that time is fast running out!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das