The future is increasingly a disaster zone, new report warns

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According to a new United Nations report, catastrophe has become more commonplace. Humans are largely responsible for the increasing number of disasters, which are only going to get worse, according to the report.

The world averaged between 90 and 100 disasters per year from 1970 to 2000, according to a report published today by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Between 2001 and 2020 it grew to between 350 to 500 disasters a year.

The UN counted disasters caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, extreme weather, crop plagues, epidemics, and more. Disasters that only affect local communities were excluded by the UN.

At no other point in modern history has humankind faced such an array of familiar and unfamiliar risks.

The report states that human activity has raised the stakes of these disasters. When a hazard like an earthquake or a flood happens, it becomes disastrous. Populations are growing in places that are in harm and vanishing coastlines that are more vulnerable to storms. Climate change has made nature more powerful. Hotter global temperatures have made heatwaves and wildfire seasons more intense. More deaths have been caused by disasters in the past five years than in the previous five.

Without changes on the part of humanity, it could be even bleaker. Disasters related to extreme temperatures could triple in frequency. According to the UN report, the number of disasters will rise to around 560 annually.

According to the report, just a tiny fraction of official disaster financing actually goes towards efforts that focus on reducing risk ahead of time. Recovery efforts received over $7 billion between 2010 and 2019, while financing to prevent and prepare for disaster received over $5 billion. Money funneled into temporary emergency response got close to $120 billion in the same time period.

The world needs to do more to incorporate disaster risk in how we live, build and invest, which is setting humanity on a spiral of self-destruction.