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In a slew of distressing climate news, yet another report highlights an ongoing consequence of global warming. According to the World Meteorological Organization, a specialised agency of the United Nations, Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the rest of the world. In terms of immediate damage, this means Asia is at almost double the risk of extreme temperatures, glacial melts, urban flooding, wildfires and tornadoes. While in the longer run, this translates to a devastation of 42% of the world economies via droughts, displacements and food insecurity. Pakistan in particular is exceedingly susceptible to inhumane heatwaves which are already being witnessed, along with both floods and droughts.
The paradox of climate change is that it does not push regions towards wreckage of a similar nature, instead it instigates chaotic and extreme weather events of all kinds. While parts of Central and South Asia were drier than usual with significant reduction in expected rainfall, other parts of Central Asia experienced severe snowmelt and the worst case of urban flooding in 70 years. Regions in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Thailand, also witnessed catastrophic flooding, landslides and tornadoes.
Asia’s increased vulnerability to climate change also puts some of the world’s most vast mountainous areas at risk. The High-Mountain Asia (HMA) region has, with the exception of the polar regions, the largest volume of ice. But as Asia warms up, so does the ice. If HMA loses its ice, the entire world would be vulnerable to infrastructural disasters, increased greenhouse gases due to melting permafrost, coastal flooding and disruption of aquatic ecosystems. This disaster would not remain solely Asia’s to bear.
Disaster preparedness and early warning systems are now a global necessity, but even more so for regions that cannot afford it. The fight against climate change demands global unity, and accelerated action.