Climate-Related Disasters Forced 20 Million Out of Homes in 2008

Climate-Related Disasters Forced 20 Million Out of Homes in 2008

~ Last year, 4.6 million people were displaced by conflict and violence, but four times as many fled their homes due to climate-related disasters ~

In 2008, at least 36 million people were displaced by sudden-onset natural disasters including over 20 million displaced by climate-related, rapid-onset disasters, according to a new report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).

According to the study "Monitoring Disaster Displacement in the Context of Climate Change", climate changes are already increasing the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, and the numbers of natural disasters reported and people affected are rising.

"Had it not been for the Sichuan earthquake in China, which displaced 15 million people, climate related disasters would have been responsible for over 90 percent of disaster-related displacement in 2008," the study commented.

The estimates do not include the number of people displaced by slow-onset disasters such as drought and rise in sea level.


for complete article:
2009-09-24
http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2188