Heatwaves and droughts will pose the greatest threat in the next decade, as temperatures continue to rise due to heat-trapping gases, experts said. Some 7,348 major disaster events were recorded globally, claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and causing $2.97 trillion in economic losses during the two-decade period. Drought, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires and extreme temperature events caused major damage. She called for governments to invest in early warning systems and implement disaster risk reduction strategies. "Heatwaves are going to be our biggest challenge in the next 10 years, especially in the poor countries," she said.

Source: bd News24 October 12, 2020 13:18 UTC