Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Climate change effects - statistics & facts
Climate change has become an ubiquitous topic around the world in recent years due to the magnitude and scope of its impacts. Increases in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have shifted weather patterns across the globe, causing extreme weather events such as hurricanes, drought, excessive rainfall, and irregular temperatures. Such events are growing in frequency and intensity, resulting in severe consequences. From human deaths and biodiversity loss to destroyed homes and infrastructure, no corner of the world is exempt from the effects of climate change.
The era of global boiling has arrived
Global warming is one of the most widely known effects of climate change, with the two terms used interchangeably by the general population. However, climate change – which refers to changes in climate patterns over a long period of time – encompasses not only global warming but also the side effects of a warming climate. As of 2022, the global temperature had increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. Even in the most optimistic scenario, a warming of 1.8 degrees Celsius is expected by the end of the century.
With warmer temperatures, more soil moisture is lost to the atmosphere, increasing drought conditions across the planet. For example, regions of the United States are abnormally dry, with 85 percent of the country’s continental area exposed to drought conditions in October 2022. The U.S. West is experiencing the worst megadrought on record. In turn, prolonged heat waves and droughts create perfect conditions for wildfire outbreaks. Even when these wildfires are sparked by human activities – such as clearing land for agriculture – dry and warm conditions often make them more extreme or cause them to get out of control. In 2021, the tree cover area loss due to wildfires worldwide surpassed seven million hectares. Higher temperatures and habitat degradation through wildfires also threaten global biodiversity.
While on the one hand a warming climate increases the likelihood of droughts and wildfires, on the other hand, the increase in evaporation and ocean water temperatures intensifies the frequency and strength of devastating storms and tropical cyclones. With more water pouring down in shorter intervals, the risk of floods is also raised. In 2022, more than 170 flood disasters were recorded worldwide. Flood risk in coastal areas is also aggravated by rising sea levels, which is caused by melting glaciers and thermal expansion – water taking up more space as it warms.
The costs of climate change
Economic losses from weather-, climate-, and water-related disasters exceeded 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars between 2010 and 2019, up from 942 billion U.S. dollars a decade earlier. Tropical cyclones and storms combined for 70 percent of losses in the past half-century. While economic losses have increased across the decades, better prevention, warning, and response systems have seen the number of deaths from climate disasters decline in the same period. Nevertheless, an estimated 185,000 lives were lost between 2010 and 2019, averaging 50 deaths per day. Millions of others have been affected. It is forecast that 78 to 170 million people worldwide may be internally displaced due to the effects of climate change by 2050, depending on the future development of emissions and mitigation practices.
