India is the Second-Most at-risk Country among most affected by Global Warming

From 1970 to 2019, natural catastrophes accounted for 50% of all disasters, 45 per cent of all recorded deaths, and 74% of all reported economic losses, according to the agencies’ Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate, and Water Extremes.

Over 11,000 tragedies were documented worldwide as a result of these dangers, resulting in just over two million deaths and $3.64 trillion in costs. Developing countries accounted for more than 91 per cent of the deaths.

Uswitch.com/gas-electricity was intrigued by this and set out to determine which country is the most affected by global warming in terms of natural disasters. They developed a points-based index based on historical worldwide data of over 15,000 disasters from 1902 to 2021 to determine which countries are most likely to be affected by natural disasters. A total score was then calculated by using the average per cent rank across four different categories: number of people affected, fatalities, disasters and damages.

Methodology Adapted by Uswitch.com

1. Energy experts at uswitch.com sought to determine the most dangerous country in the world to live in based on the number of natural disasters that have historically occurred within their borders, along with the damages and casualties sustained.

2. For this study, time-series data of natural disasters that have occurred globally from 1902-2021 was extracted fromEM-DAT. The source provides a comprehensive account on natural disasters, their locations and impacts over a time-period.

3. The natural disasters investigated were droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, extreme temperature, floods, fog, glacial lake outbursts, extraterrestrial impacts, insect infestation, landslides, storms, volcanic activity, mass movement and wildfires. Factors that determine the impact of natural disasters in each country include the number of disasters, damage caused, people affected and total fatalities.

4. The selection of countries were filtered for those only as members of the UN. Lastly, to optimise our choice of weightings, an additional column comparing total damages to the countries’ most recent GDP was implemented as a total percentage.

5. The total score out of 10 was determined by utilising an average percent rank across all of the variables investigated in the resulting dataset. The weights were asymmetrically distributed between the variables such that total affected and total disasters had a greater influence on the score.

6. The weighted percent rank score provides a comprehensive rating and is used to determine the most dangerous country in the world to live, based on natural disasters.

7. The data was collected on 09/12/21 and is accurate as of then.

Top 10 countries experiencing the most natural disasters

With a score of 9.978, China comes out on top, having scored first in terms of both total number of people affected (over 3.3 billion) and estimated economic damage (almost $800 billion or €704 billion). With 39 reported droughts since 1902, global warming has contributed to this country suffering from more droughts than any other country on our list.

With a score of 9.912, India is ranked second among the countries most affected by global warming. In India, there have been 60 incidents of severe temperature events, making it the only country in the top ten to have glacial lake outbursts.

With a score of 9.720, Bangladesh is ranked third. Almost 80 percent of the 356 natural catastrophes reported were either floods or storms. These incidents affected a total of 464 million people and cost $39 billion (€35 billion) in losses.

With a score of 9.648, the United States is in fourth place. Natural catastrophes strike this country more frequently than any other, causing an estimated $1.7 trillion (€1.5 trillion) in economic damage, or roughly 8% of its GDP. The United States has experienced 685 recorded storm events as a result of global warming, the most in the world.

Philippines, Indonesia, and Iran are ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. In terms of natural disasters, these Asian countries have scores ranging from 9.587 to 9.45. Volcanic eruptions, with 60 documented in Indonesia, are one of the most prevalent risks in all three countries, followed by earthquakes.

Pakistan is in the eighth place with a score of 9.442. Floods account for about half of the country’s natural disasters, with storms, landslides, and earthquakes accounting for the rest.

Japan is ranked ninth with a score of 9.362. Since 1902, more than 400 natural catastrophes have struck the islands, causing more than $735 billion in damage. Storms are responsible for over half of the disasters, with earthquakes, floods, and landslides accounting for the remainder.

Brazil, with a score of 9.217, rounds out the top ten countries with the most natural disasters. Its economic impact of $47 billion is small in comparison to the other countries on this list, since it accounts for only 3% of the country’s overall GDP.