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Chapter 4 - Changes in Impacts of Climate Extremes: Human Systems and Ecosystems
- from Section III
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- By John Handmer, Yasushi Honda, Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Nigel Arnell, Gerardo Benito, Jerry Hatfield, Ismail Fadl Mohamed, Pascal Peduzzi, Shaohong Wu, Boris Sherstyukov, Kiyoshi Takahashi, Zheng Yan, Sebastian Vicuna, Avelino Suarez, Amjad Abdulla, Laurens M. Bouwer, John Campbell, Masahiro Hashizume, Fred Hattermann, Robert Heilmayr, Adriana Keating, Monique Ladds, Katharine J. Mach, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Reinhard Mechler, Carlos Nobre, Apurva Sanghi, James Screen, Joel Smith, Adonis Velegrakis, Walter Vergara, Anya M. Waite, Jason Westrich, Joshua Whittaker, Yin Yunhe, Hiroya Yamano
- Edited by Christopher B. Field, Vicente Barros, Thomas F. Stocker, Qin Dahe
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- Book:
- Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
- Print publication:
- 28 May 2012, pp 231-290
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- Chapter
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Summary
Executive Summary
Extreme impacts can result from extreme weather and climate events, but can also occur without extreme events. This chapter examines two broad categories of impacts on human and ecological systems, both of which are influenced by changes in climate, vulnerability, and exposure: first, the chapter primarily focuses on impacts that result from extreme weather and climate events, and second, it also considers extreme impacts that are triggered by less-than-extreme weather or climate events. These two categories of impacts are examined across sectors, systems, and regions. Extreme events can have positive as well as negative impacts on ecosystems and human activities.
Economic losses from weather- and climate-related disasters have increased, but with large spatial and interannual variability (high confidence, based on high agreement, medium evidence). Global weather- and climate-related disaster losses reported over the last few decades reflect mainly monetized direct damages to assets, and are unequally distributed. Estimates of annual losses have ranged since 1980 from a few US$ billion to above 200 billion (in 2010 dollars), with the highest value for 2005 (the year of Hurricane Katrina). In the period 2000 to 2008, Asia experienced the highest number of weather- and climate-related disasters. The Americas suffered the most economic loss, accounting for the highest proportion (54.6%) of total loss, followed by Asia (27.5%) and Europe (15.9%). Africa accounted for only 0.6% of global economic losses. Loss estimates are lower bound estimates because many impacts, such as loss of human lives, cultural heritage, and ecosystem services, are difficult to value and monetize, and thus they are poorly reflected in estimates of losses. [4.5.1, 4.5.3.3, 4.5.4.1]
Chapter 9 - Case Studies
- from Section III
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- By Virginia Murray, Gordon McBean, Mihir Bhatt, Sergey Borsch, Tae Sung Cheong, Wadid Fawzy Erian, Silvia Llosa, Farrokh Nadim, Mario Nunez, Ravsal Oyun, Avelino G. Suarez, John Hay, Mai Trong Nhuan, Jose Moreno, Peter Berry, Harriet Caldin, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Catriona Carmichael, Anita Cooper, Cherif Diop, Justin Ginnetti, Delphine Grynzspan, Clare Heaviside, Jeremy Hess, James Kossin, Paul Kovacs, Sari Kovats, Irene Kreis, Reza Lahidji, Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, Felipe Lucio, Simon Mason, Sabrina McCormick, Reinhard Mechler, Bettina Menne, Soojeong Myeong, Arona Ngari, Neville Nicholls, Ursula Oswald Spring, Pascal Peduzzi, Rosa Perez, Caroline Rodgers, Hannah Rowlatt, Sohel Saikat, Sonia Seneviratne, Addis Taye, Richard Thornton, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Koko Warner, Irina Zodrow
- Edited by Christopher B. Field, Vicente Barros, Thomas F. Stocker, Qin Dahe
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- Book:
- Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
- Print publication:
- 28 May 2012, pp 487-542
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Executive Summary
Case studies contribute more focused analyses which, in the context of human loss and damage, demonstrate the effectiveness of response strategies and prevention measures and identify lessons about success in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The case studies were chosen to complement and be consistent with the information in the preceding chapters, and to demonstrate aspects of the key messages in the Summary for Policymakers and the Hyogo Framework for Action Priorities.
The case studies were grouped to examine types of extreme events, vulnerable regions, and methodological approaches. For the extreme event examples, the first two case studies pertain to events of extreme temperature with moisture deficiencies in Europe and Australia and their impacts including on health. These are followed by case studies on drought in Syria and dzud, cold-dry conditions in Mongolia. Tropical cyclones in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Mesoamerica, and then floods in Mozambique are discussed in the context of community actions. The last of the extreme events case studies is about disastrous epidemic disease, using the case of cholera in Zimbabwe, as the example.
The case studies chosen to reflect vulnerable regions demonstrate how a changing climate provides significant concerns for people, societies, and their infrastructure. These are: Mumbai as an example of a coastal megacity; the Republic of the Marshall Islands, as an example of small island developing states with special challenges for adaptation; and Canada's northern regions as an example of cold climate vulnerabilities focusing on infrastructures.