Climate change will make drought and flooding events more frequent, forcing nations to rethink the way they cope with disasters, according to a new report the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued Friday. The report suggests that researchers are far more confident about the prospect of more intense heat waves and heavy downpours than they are about how global warming is affecting hurricanes and tornadoes. In its report, the U.N. panel says it has “low confidence” in drawing scientific conclusions yet from any observed changes in the increased number of tropical storms worldwide. But the new analysis also speaks to a broader trend: The world is facing a new reality of more extreme weather, and policymakers and business alike are beginning to adjust.
The past decade the number of record highs in the United States outnumbered the record lows by an average of 2 to 1; historically, the two have been roughly even. The report says there is at least a 66 percent chance that climate extremes have changed as a result of greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities, including from coal-fired power plants and fuel burned through transportation. It notes that “economic losses from weather- and climate-related disasters are increasing,” though they can fluctuate from year to year. The overall economic and insured losses are greater in industrialized nations, while in poor countries extreme weather events cause more deaths and represent a greater proportion of the gross domestic product. Policymakers cannot afford to ignore the sort of scientific findings. “The science is not getting more uncertain - it’s actually getting more and more certain. It’s getting in line with what people intuitively feel.”
THIS YEAR HAS ALREADY SET A RECORD IN TERMS OF BILLION-DOLLAR DISASTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES, with at least 10 disasters approaching a total of $50 billion. Researchers need to look more closely at whether intense storms are making landfall more frequently, since that is what threatens society the most. “It’s sort of an irony that the things that matter the most to people are the things climate scientists have the least handle on, by our own admission." The report calls on governments to adopt “low-regrets measures” that will offer societal benefits even if climate change does not cause as much damage as many researchers predict. Many public and private institutions across the globe are already adjusting to the idea that extreme weather has become the new normal. The fact that 2011 RANKS AS THE MOST EXPENSIVE YEAR IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY'S HISTORY means consumers will have to pay more to get insurance.
In poorer regions of the world, such as Africa, countries are hoping to use technology and pooled resources to respond. The African Union has created the African Risk Capacity program, or ARC, which will use satellite weather surveillance and software developed by the U.N. World Food Program to calculate and direct disaster assistance as soon as a severe drought hits. Bangladesh has reduced its cyclone-related fatalities by adopting an early-warning system and building concrete shelters for those living on the coast. “We don’t have to sit there like punching dummies and take this on the chin. The good-news part of this is these things work.” Still, most nations are not doing enough. “Governments are behind the eight ball on this. They’re just not doing what they should be doing to protect people.”
not because she labors, but because she labors for others.**
Saint John Chrysostom
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Yesterday -
11/19/11 -
5.0 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
5.2 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 CENTRAL EAST PACIFIC RISE
5.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
5.3 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
11/18/11 -
5.0 EASTERN TURKEY
5.9 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
5.7 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
5.3 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
5.2 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Pacific -
Tropical depression 13-E was located about 480 mi. (770 km) SSW of Acapulco, Mexico. Expected to become a tropical storm today.
