Asia warming faster than rest of the world, was 'most disaster-hit region' in 2023: UN

In 2023, Asia earned a title that is anything but an achievement: the world's most disaster-hit region by climate-related hazards.

Asia was worst-hit with floods and storms causing the highest number of casualties last year, as per a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on Tuesday (Apr 23).

As per the United Nations agency Asia reported 79 disasters linked to hydro-meteorological events in 2023. Of these, more than 80 per cent were related to floods and storms and collectively had a death toll of over 2,000, while another nine million people were directly affected, said the WMO.

Global Warming and Asia

According to WMO, last year global temperatures rose to record highs, and Asia was warming faster than the rest of the world.

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Last year, the continent recorded temperatures nearly two degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average, reported Reuters citing the WMO. Furthermore, Asia's annual mean near-surface temperature was the second-highest on record, at 0.91 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.

Rising temperatures, coupled with melting glaciers, threaten the region's future water security, said WMO.

In a statement, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said: "The report's conclusions are sobering."

"Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a barrage of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms".

"Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies, and, most importantly, human lives and the environment that we live in," added the WMO chief.

World's most disaster-hit region

"Asia remained the world's most disaster-hit region from weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023," said WMO, as reported by AFP.

Across Asia, particularly high average temperatures were recorded. Japan had its hottest summer on record. Meanwhile, the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan and Afghanistan saw below-normal precipitation.

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China, meanwhile, suffered through a drought as it recorded below-normal precipitation levels nearly every month.

Furthermore, over the past several decades, the High-Mountain Asia region, centred on the Tibetan Plateau, recorded glaciers retreating at an increasingly accelerating rate.

Out of the 22 monitored glaciers in the region — which boasts the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions — 20 showed continued mass ice loss last year.

"It is imperative that our actions and strategies mirror the urgency of these times," stressed Saulo. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the evolving climate is not merely an option, but a fundamental necessity."

(With inputs from agencies)