Eight ways climate change is making the world more dangerous

Natural disasters have become more frequent and costly since the 1970s, as this article from the Guardian illustrates:

Storms are becoming more destructive due to climate change.
(Image credit)

Forget the future. The world already is nearly five times as dangerous and disaster prone as it was in the 1970s, because of the increasing risks brought by climate change, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation.

The first decade of the 21st century saw 3,496 natural disasters from floods, storms, droughts and heat waves. That was nearly five times as many disasters as the 743 catastrophes reported during the 1970s – and all of those weather events are influenced by climate change.

The bottom line: natural disasters are occurring nearly five times as often as they were in the 1970s. But some disasters – such as floods and storms – pose a bigger threat than others. Flooding and storms are also taking a bigger bite out of the economy. But heat waves are an emerging killer.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.newmessage.org