Floods, droughts, and global disasters.

The Weather Channel reported on July 10th, citing a report on the climate for the next five years from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), that global temperatures could rise by at least 1 degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The WMO even predicted a 20% chance of a temperature increase of up to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the average of the period between 1850 and 1900. In fact, the past five years have been a record-breaking period for the organization.

Aggregate data from over 36,000 weather stations worldwide has shown that the Earth is continuing to warm, causing extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and insect infestations to occur more frequently, with greater intensity, and for longer periods than before.

UNUSUAL RAINFALL, FLOODS, AND DROUGHTS

Severe flooding in southern China is gradually shifting to eastern provinces along the Yangtze River. Flooding in Anhui province over the past week forced 147,000 people to evacuate and damaged more than 2,000 homes. Meanwhile, in Jiangxi province, over 151,000 people were evacuated and nearly 2,000 homes were damaged by floods in just the past two days.

According to research analyzing 29 extreme weather indicators from 1950 to the present, days with above-average temperatures are becoming more frequent. For example, in Australia, temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius have been recorded not only in urban areas but also in rural regions. The heat has contributed to the spread of bushfires in Australia over the past year, causing significant damage, with at least 34 deaths, 18.6 million hectares burned, and over 5,900 homes damaged.

Unusual weather phenomena are not only occurring in Asia but also in South America, where the WMO has just announced a record-breaking lightning strike of 709 km. It was recorded on October 31, 2019, stretching from northeastern Argentina, across southern Brazil, and streaking across the Atlantic Ocean.

Locusts have crossed Africa and are wreaking havoc in China.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), desert locusts are a type of insect pest belonging to the locust family. Despite having a lifespan of only three months, in suitable conditions, this pest can increase its population up to 20 times and move in enormous swarms, devastating crops.

These locusts destroy crops and breed originating in Africa, from Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan, before spreading to Asia, including India, Pakistan, and China.

As of July 11, the Chinese government reported that swarms of yellow-backed bamboo locusts had destroyed approximately 65 square kilometers of farmland in Pu'er, Yunnan province. The Pu'er forestry bureau recently issued a warning of a potential locust "catastrophe" in China's southern border region, as the swarm's destructive rate continues to increase.

Favorable weather conditions, lax crop monitoring – particularly in conflict zones – and challenges in accessing resources due to the Covid pandemic have triggered a locust crisis, with the insects reaching unprecedented numbers in decades.

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO PROVIDE WARNINGS

A report released last year by the China Meteorological Administration showed a continuous increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall and high temperatures over the past six decades. According to experts from Greenpeace, the unusual flooding in China is part of a series of increasingly frequent extreme weather events due to climate change: “There is an urgent need to strengthen early warning systems for these weather events, assess climate risks in cities, and improve flood control systems.”

As soon as locusts began returning in the latter half of June, experts warned that if countries did not continue to receive assistance to control the pest, millions of people in at least 23 countries would face food shortages by the end of the year.

According to Carbon Brief, numerous studies show that the impact of climate change on the economy and the human environment has been underestimated. Experts argue that financial and social losses and damages from climate impacts are inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to promote climate negotiations among countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other human impacts on the environment, and to mitigate extreme weather events and natural disasters.

My Tong