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How Climate Change is Affecting Countries Struggling with Extreme Weather?

How Climate Change is Affecting Countries: Almost all countries in the world have signed the Paris Agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, including the major emitters such as China and India. The agreement has encouraged these countries to take action and see opportunities for a green economy and zero-carbon future. This article looks at how climate change is affecting these countries.

How Climate Change is Affecting Countries Struggling with Extreme Weather
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How Climate Change is Affecting Countries

While it’s too early to determine exactly how many people will die from climate change, it’s clear that the impacts are devastating. By 2050, the risk of famine and hunger is expected to increase by twenty percent. This is especially true in Africa. Climate change will also cause tens of millions of people to be displaced from their homes.

Kenya is also one of the countries at risk due to climate change. It’s the largest economy in the region, and its economic impacts could have major consequences on neighboring nations. The government of Kenya has committed significant resources to responding to the impacts of climate change. The country contributes only 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030.

Table of Contents

Impacts of climate change on livelihoods

One of the most obvious impacts of climate change on people’s lives is hunger and extreme poverty. According to the United Nations, 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The changing climate is threatening these resources, with prolonged droughts depleting food supplies and drying up water sources. As a result, crops are dying, animals are starving, and families are displaced to find work.

Labor and human health

Climate change also impacts the availability of labor and human health. Many rural people in developing countries rely on secondary non-farm livelihood strategies. One of these strategies is tourism. However, climate change has already had a negative impact on tourism in many developing countries. In this situation, livelihood diversification is key.

Crop yields and water availability

One of the most important variables for agriculture is freshwater availability. Although we have a better understanding of the present climate, it is difficult to make accurate projections for the coming decades. Despite these challenges, climate scientists are beginning to address the challenge of climate change and food security. Using climate models that can predict future temperatures and precipitation can help inform impact assessments.

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Other adverse effects of climate change include reduced crop yields and water availability in the tropics and low-lying regions. Rising temperatures will also exacerbate drought in dry areas and increase the risk of desertification and salinization of agricultural land. Furthermore, the increase in sea level will increase the risks of flooding and coastal erosion. It will also affect fish stocks.

How to combat climate change?

Reforestation is another way to combat climate change and build resilience against climate shocks. Reforestation can improve agricultural productivity, improve biodiversity, and support economic livelihoods. One example of this is USAID’s Sustainable Landscapes program, which leverages $500 million in investments from global companies to support bilateral and global programs in Bangladesh, India, and Zambia.

Impacts on food security

Climate change affects agriculture in a variety of ways, directly and indirectly. It affects crop growth, distribution of incomes, and demand for agricultural products. A number of studies have quantified these effects under various assumptions. These studies provide an overview of how climate change is changing the agro-ecological environment.

Global food security

Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have become a major threat to global food security. The United States should assume global leadership in responding to climate change and promote climate-smart agriculture. It should also elevate the issue of food security in national security discussions. By doing so, it can leverage the recent reorganization of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Transportation and distribution of food

Climate change and the food supply chain are directly linked. Climate-related disturbances in the transportation and distribution of food can significantly affect the availability and quality of food.

In the United States, food transportation is largely conducted by water, and waterways and alternate routes are often compromised by extreme weather events. For example, the 2012 summer drought impacted the Mississippi River watershed, a major transcontinental shipping route for agriculture.

Other factors

Food export restrictions are also a major issue for many nations. In the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a number of nations implemented trade sanctions limiting exports of food. This was later eased after protests by farmers. Warmer temperatures and frequent droughts are also damaging crops. Moreover, government assistance is not always available to farmers who have been hit by extreme weather events.

Rising temperatures will increase the incidence of pests and diseases. This will impact crops, livestock, and fish. In some areas, the climate change will cause a greater incidence of droughts, which may make food production difficult. Some areas may be able to increase irrigation, but others may not.

Impacts on conflict

Climate change may affect conflicts in many different ways, and it may also make it more likely that some conflicts are more violent. For example, the threat of climate change decreases the pool of available resources in a conflict, which may lead to the targeting of civilians. While a purely political victory will not address this fundamental imbalance, it can help reduce the risks of conflict by increasing the resources available to actors.

Local tensions and violence

Another way climate change affects conflict is through increasing local tensions and violence. In places where the population is disproportionately poor, climate-related changes may cause conflict between communities. This may lead to increased recruitment of violent extremist groups and more urban displaced populations. For these reasons, it is crucial that the world’s climate action policies are as conflict-sensitive as possible.

Somalia

Researchers have found that climate change increases the risk of conflict by about four to five times within a 550-km radius. This increase is due to rising temperatures, increased drought, and increased extreme rainfall. These conditions are already affecting many of the most vulnerable countries, such as Somalia. As a result, these countries are entrapped in a vicious cycle of worsening climatic disasters and conflict.

In Somalia, for example, climate scientists expect a lot more rainfall in the coming years. However, these downpours will only last for a short period, and will be lost as runoff, not replenishing water sources or nourishing pastures. In addition, a lack of livelihood opportunities can exacerbate local conflicts. Climate change can also increase social inequalities and erode traditional protection structures.

North Africa

Conflict and climate change are related, but their causes and effects vary widely. Adapting to climate change may help address many of the causes of conflict, including governance and socio-economic conditions. By addressing these issues, conflict can be avoided. By building a more stable and peaceful society, we can minimize the impacts of climate change on conflict.

In North Africa, climate change is increasing the risk of ethnic conflicts. The conflict in the Darfur region, for example, is worsened by resource scarcity. Herders in the region have moved from their pastures and into the lands of settled farmers. As a result, the conflict became enmeshed with ethnic polarisation.

Impacts on economic development

Extreme weather events can have a significant impact on economic development. Studies show that they can increase the fiscal deficit by as much as 0.8 percent of the GDP in low and lower-middle-income countries. In contrast, a high-income country may experience little or no fiscal impact from these events, largely because of its increased preparedness and response capabilities.

Supply chains

Extreme weather events can disrupt supply chains and have long-term economic effects. In some cases, they can disrupt production processes and result in a decrease in productivity. In other cases, they can even lead to a shortage of resources. In addition, they can cause a chain of economic damage that can be very costly to repair.

Economic development

As climate change impacts our world more frequently, the costs of extreme weather events are increasing. Many economies are struggling to recover from single disasters and frequent climate disasters. This new climate reality has created a new set of problems for economic development. As a result, finance ministries must take an active role in building a more resilient economy. One important way to do this is to identify the economic risks that are associated with extreme weather events.

Losses to infrastructure, housing, and private property.

Damages caused by extreme weather events include losses to infrastructure, housing, and private property. Fortunately, it’s not too late to mitigate the impact of these weather hazards. By adopting cost-effective mitigation strategies, we can minimize the economic and social costs of these weather events. While there are many ways to minimize these impacts, there is no way to prevent these events entirely. If we don’t address the causes of these disasters, we may be putting ourselves at risk.

Conclusion

Because extreme weather does not affect everyone equally, the most vulnerable communities will be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events. The impacts of these events are particularly severe in historically marginal communities, which face multiple crises concurrently, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States needs to invest in environmental justice and climate mitigation strategies in order to achieve a better future. These investments will also help ensure that the nation does not add to the global climate crisis.

Natural disasters also have negative impacts on the government’s fiscal balance. They reduce government revenues and reduce the level of tax collections from productive sectors. In addition, they may increase public expenditures due to increased financial needs and the necessity of reconstruction.

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