Colombia is ranked 80 in the index of the countries most affected by extreme weather events between 1990 and 2008, with a rate of 63 deaths per year and economic losses estimated at $89 million.
The index released this morning by the organization Germanwatch Copenhagen, lists of the countries most affected by extreme weather events between 1990 and 2008, according to El Espectador newspaper on Tuesday.
Venezuela ranked higher as one of the countries hardest hit in the decade, ranking at number 11, just below China, positioning it as one of the most vulnerable countries in the face of climate change.
“Extreme weather events are a growing threat to the life and economy around the globe and its impacts will multiply in the future due to climate change. Our analysis shows that poor countries will be particularly affected,” said Sven Harmeling one of the authors of the Global Climate Risk Index 2010.
According to the report, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras were the countries most affected by climatic events in the last decade. Myanmar, Yemen and Vietnam were the most vulnerable in the past year on account of storms and typhoons. The ten countries hardest hit by climate are, with the exception of China, underdeveloped, poor nations.
An estimated 600,000 people died as a direct result of the 11,000 extreme weather events recorded in the 10 years of the research. The economic toll from world climate change is estimated at more than $1.7 trillion dollars.
Given the cost in lives and money that has fallen on poor countries, Christoph Bals, director of the institute Germanwatch said: “It is the duty of industrialized countries to implement an adaptive framework for more vulnerable developing countries. A key element should be an international insurance for at-risk countries, supported by those responsible for climate change.”
An earlier study predicted Colombia’s Andean glaciers would disappear within the next 25 years because of climate change.
Top 10 most affected nations:
1. Bangladesh
2. Myanmar
3. Honduras
4. Viet Nam
5. Nicaragua
6. Haiti
7. India
8. Dominican Republic
9. Philippines
10. China