Climate change could cause loss of 4% of annual global economic output by 2050, which might hit many poorer parts of the world excessively hard, according to a new study of 135 countries.
The S & P Global rating agency, which awards countries credit ratings based on the health of their economies, released a report on Tuesday that examines the likely effects of rising sea levels as well as more frequent heat waves, droughts and storms.
In a baseline scenario in which governments largely shun major new climate mitigation measures, called “RCP 4.5” by low- and lower-middle-income scientists, the losses on average will be 3.6 times higher in GDP than in richer members.
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka face raging fire, floods, severe storms, and scarcity of water. South Asia is vulnerable-at about 10-18% of GDP — about three times that of North America, and ten times that of its least-affected region, Europe.
Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and areas of Sub-Saharan Africa also suffered a significant amount of losses.
East Asian and Pacific nations face risks similar to sub-Saharan Africa, but mostly due to storms and flooding, not heatwaves and droughts.
“To different degrees, this is an issue for the world,” said Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, S & P’s chief executive credit analyst.
Some experts have also suggested a floating rating scale, with highly exposed countries getting a credit rating for as long as ten years or so, and another for the future, when issues are probable to bite.
We have to ask two questions: has the government demonstrated that there's enough uncertainty to doubt the findings, and have they revealed evidence of systematic bias? | @muradbanajihttps://t.co/O6mNaKI27j
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
On the precipice of another punishing heatwave spell, Delhi is predicted to see a jump of 2-3°C in the maximum temperature on Wednesday, April 27; it is expected to breach the 42°C mark on Wednesday and soar to 44°C by Thursday, according to the IMD.https://t.co/7QuR2DSPbT
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
A massive fire broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi on Tuesday. According to officials, 13 fire tenders were at the site to douse the flames.https://t.co/GaBBCd51ue
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
ASHA workers, a key cog in India's health system, are being trained in Gujarat's Patan district to identify survivors of domestic violence. | @swagata_yhttps://t.co/dKSrdRLeG1
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
People usually ignore the fly because they do not appreciate its myriad mysteries. To change this is the challenge and the joy of science writing. | @ragh_gadagkarhttps://t.co/Ab8p2BptI3
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
In an interview with Karan Thapar, virologist Shahid Jameel said while the current COVID-19 situation in India is under control, two variants recently identified in South Africa contain mutations that could make them more infectious and virulent.https://t.co/Lczgsr7nzm
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 27, 2022
India's drug regulator has granted emergency use authorisation for Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for those aged five to 12 years and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children in the age group of six to 12 years.https://t.co/mHfQlXsuk6
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
The differences between the effects of the delta and the omicron variants don't reflect in the numbers that we're using to track India's COVID-19 epidemic. | @Banjotkaurhttps://t.co/QbWbMRQ0oR
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
According to the IMD, there is a heatwave on some days when the average maximum temperature on those days is 4.5-6.4º above the long-term average. | @1amnerdhttps://t.co/m6AWJQOiHG
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
Rocky outcrops are a type of small natural feature: spatially diminutive natural entities with highly variable environmental conditions, and which often harbour a unique assemblage of organisms. | Renuka Kulkarni#Archiveshttps://t.co/NpjnHbvYfV
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that heatwave conditions are unlikely in Delhi for the next three days, but has issued a 'yellow alert' for a spell starting from April 28.https://t.co/br63lEUgao
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
The Moorang gram panchayat in Himachal's Kinnaur district refused to give their consent to a proposed 804-megawatt hydro-electric project in their area. | @guptavivek83https://t.co/i12o5cAgOO
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 26, 2022
The reason mosquitoes prefer certain individuals to others is likely to lie in the different semiochemicals found on the human skin surface. | Madelien Wooding, @Labrot14https://t.co/ixuHCgn9yT
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 25, 2022
Mechanistically, disturbing forests can increase exposure of vulnerable human populations to malaria. It can also modify the diversity and relative success of mosquito species, favoring those that transmit malaria. | Mercedes Pascual, Andres Baezahttps://t.co/djYsjTXxJY
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 25, 2022
Across Kenya, Sudan, and Ethiopia, weak and feverish patients are being taken to hospitals by their worried families, stricken by a parasitic killer. It might sound like malaria, but these patients are in fact affected by kala-azar. | @MoniqueWasunnahttps://t.co/vJedMbbOY0
— The Wire Science (@TheWireScience) April 25, 2022
