Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras were the countries most severely affected by extreme weather events from 1990 to 2008, according to a climate change risk study published on Tuesday.
When only 2008 is considered, the top three worst-hit countries were Myanmar, Yemen and Vietnam, said the paper which was published on the sidelines of the ongoing UN talks in the Danish capital.
The so-called Global Climate Risk Index aims at giving a pointer of a country’s vulnerability to violent weather events stoked by global warming.
It is derived from a basket of factors, namely the total number of deaths from storms, floods and other weather extremes; deaths per 100,000; losses in absolute dollar terms; and the loss in terms of a percentage of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Weather extremes are an increasing threat for lives and economic values across the world, and their impacts will likely grow larger in the future due to climate change,” said the report, authored by an NGO called Germanwatch.
“Our analyses show that in particular poor countries are severely affected.”
The report, which uses data provided by the insurance giant Munich Re, was issued on the sidelines of the December 7-18 talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The conference aims at crafting a post-2012 pact on reducing carbon emissions and providing funds for poor countries exposed to the impacts of climate change.
The “top 10” for 1990-2008 were:
1 Bangladesh
2 Myanmar
3 Honduras
4 Vietnam
5 Nicaragua
6 Haiti
7 India
8 Dominican Republic
8 Philippines
10 China
