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Lanka among countries most affected by extreme weather
Sri Lanka was among six countries deemed most affected by extreme weather events in the year 2018, along with Japan, the Philippines, Germany, Madagascar and India, a German non-profit organisation which analyses the impacts of extreme weather events said in its 2020 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI).
The factors take into consideration include fatalities and the economic losses that occurred, explains Germanwatch. The data is obtained from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE, considered worldwide as one of the most reliable and complete databases on this matter.
Sri Lanka, ranked sixth in terms of worst affected, started the year 2018 with severe monsoon rains from May 20-26 affecting 20 districts, especially the South and West coast, the report says. The provinces of Galle and Kalutara were the worst hit. In Galle, 166mm of rain fell in 24 hours when, usually, the district has an average precipitation of 290mm in the full month of May. At least 24 people died, more than 170,000 people were affected, and nearly 6,000 people were displaced.
The CRI “indicates a level of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events, which countries should understand as warnings in order to be prepared for more frequent and/or more severe events in the future,” the report says.
Heat waves were one major cause of damage in 2018, it elaborates: “Of the ten most affected countries in 2018, Germany, Japan and India were suffering from extended periods of heat. Recent science has found a clear link between climate change and the frequency and severity of extreme heat. In Europe, for example, extreme heat spells are now up to 100 times more likely to occur than a century ago.”
Japan is first on the list, having been hit by three exceptionally strong extreme weather events in 2018. From July 6-8, heavy rainfalls with more than 200 mm/day were measured, which is about twice as much rainfall as is usually experienced on the wettest day in Japan. The torrential rainfalls resulted in flash floods and mudslides, killing more than 200 people and leading to over 5,000 houses being damaged and the evacuation of 2.3 million people.
From mid-July to the end of August 2018, two-tiered high-pressure systems caused a severe heat wave that led to 138 fatalities and more than 70,000 people requiring hospitalisation due to heat strokes and heat exhaustion.
In the city of Kumagaya, temperatures of 41.1°C were reported – a national heat record in Japan. In September 2018, Typhoon Jebi made landfall in Japan, becoming the most intense tropical cyclone in the country for over 25 years. Jebi broke several historical records for sustained winds in Japan, causing economic damage of over US$ 12 billion.