Developing countries are worst hit by extreme weather events

Nepal ranked 28th in a global climate risk index launched today at the UN Climate Summit in Warsaw, Poland. The index ranks the countries that suffered the most from extreme weather events in 2012.

The global climate risk index ranks Haiti, Philippines and Pakistan as the countries worst hit by extreme weather events last year. Hurricane Sandy’s severe damage in Haiti last year accounted the country’s rise to the top in this year’s climate risk index followed by Philippines which was hit by Typhoon Bhopa last December and Pakistan which was struck by severe monsoon flooding in 2012.

Most of the developing nations with almost all South Asian countries, lead the top 50 of the index prepared by the Germany based research and advocacy organisation Germanwatch working in the areas of sustainable development and environment. However, the wealthy countries are also up on the list with Russia and United States coming in 9th and 12th.

Pakistan, the third ranked country, has been among the three most affected countries worldwide for three consecutive years. “We have lost almost $15 billion to floods and droughts in the last three years and we need billions more to adapt to the changing climate,” said Muhammad Irfan Tariq, the director general of Pakistan’s climate change division during the launch of the index. “Can anybody imagine how will a country possibly rebuild itself from such huge catastrophes like the typhoon Haiyan or the 2010 Pakistan flood,” he said.

The Germanwatch index also listed the ranked the countries worst affected by extreme weather events in the last 20 years. Nepal came in 14th in the rankings with while Honduras topped the list with the highest weather related loss events between 1993 and 2012. Myanmar, Haiti, Nicargua and Bangladesh rounds up the list of the five worst hit countries on the same index.

According to the report, in the last twenty years more than 530,000 people died as a direct result of almost 15,000 extreme weather events and lossed of more than USD 2.5 trillion occurred worldwide.

The Climate Risk Index for 2012: the 10 most affected countries

1. Haiti

2. Philippines

3. Pakistan

4. Madagascar

5. Fiji

6. Serbia

7. Samoa

8. Bosnia and Herzegovina

9. Russia

10. Nigeria

Rankings of South Asian countries in the Climate Risk Index for 201

Pakistan 3

Bangladesh: 13

Afghanistan: 19

Nepal: 28

Sri Lanka: 29

India: 46

Maldives: 132

Bhutan: 143

Bhrikuti Rai in Warsaw