A UN organization has recently issued a report to forecast that the incidence of global natural calamities would be increased by climate change.

The organization analysed that 350-500 natural calamities attacked the world every year between 2001 and 2020 with an annual average damage reaching US$170 billion. In case present situation goes on, the number of annual natural calamities will rise to 560 by 2030. This tells that natural disasters will take place 1.5 times a day on average.

It is expected that the higher the incidence of global natural calamities, the larger the scale of their damage will grow.

It said that the number of victims will amount to about 37.6 million, 100 million at the worst, and the Asia-Pacific region will suffer the greatest. And such signs have already appeared.

This is evidenced by abnormal climatic conditions that recently swept over the Asia-Pacific region.

There was an unexpected heavy snowfall in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province of China, in late April with the temperature suddenly falling below zero. For ten days before it snowed, the average temperature of the region was reportedly 11.2℃ and 26℃ at the maximum. On April 11, the temperature dropped to 13 degrees centigrade below zero in a region of Heilongjiang Province with a heavy snowfall, paralyzing the traffic.

In the Philippines, there were landslides and floods in the central and southern areas due to tropical storm that occurred on April 10, which claimed the lives of over 160 people and left 110 others missing. Reportedly, the number of victims was over 1.93 million.

In May, too, humankind has suffered huge damage due to disastrous abnormal climate phenomena.

In India, the temperature jumped to 43-45℃ in most areas on April 27, causing great damage to millions of people.

As of May 8, the areas damaged by fire totalled more than 65 000 square metres in Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk and Kemerovo provinces and over 1 000 buildings were burnt down, including 620 dwelling houses. In Krasnoyarsk Territory alone, over 1 200 people suffered material losses, with five people being dead and 19 others injured.

Heavy rain accompanied by strong wind hit the northeastern province of Nigeria on May 9. Buildings collapsed in six places, leaving five people dead, several others injured and over 40 homeless.

Forest fire that has persisted for the recent 30-odd days burnt away 824km2 of forests and about 300 structures as of May 10.

It is expected to spread over wider areas in the future due to dry weather and strong wind.

Abnormal weather that threatens humankind every moment highlights the danger of global warming again.

At present, international conferences and cooperation are going on in an effort to prevent global warming in the world, but they have produced no substantial results. It is because greenhouse gas emission has hardly decreased.

Experts estimate that if greenhouse gas emission is not reduced drastically, it will cause serious consequences.

The disaster by climate change is not a happening of the distant future. As the abnormal climatic conditions showed in April and May in succession, it is just an impending danger.

Such facts show that the prevention of global warming is a vital issue closely related to human existence and unified and practical measures should be taken in the world to this end.