Mobilisation needed for climate-related disasters

(Eco Business, 7 Jun 2019) A United Nations agency reported that weather-related hazards such as storms, droughts, and wildfires have displaced 16.1 million people all over the world last year, a figure that can only be expected to grow with climate change.

Climate-related displacement and food insecurity is not a future possibility, but it is already happening and it’s only projected to worsen without urgent action in coming years.

Ahead of the World Environment Day, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) sounded the alarm on the growing impacts of drought in Somalia.

“UNHCR and humanitarian partners fear that severe climatic conditions combined with armed conflict and protracted displacement could push the country into a far bigger humanitarian emergency,” said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch.

As a result of below average rains and a worsening drought, an estimated 5.4 million people are likely to be food insecure by September in many parts of the Horn of Africa nation. Of those, over two million will be in severe conditions and in need of immediate emergency assistance.

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Eco Business, 7 Jun 2019: Mobilisation needed for climate-related disasters