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Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change Marc A. Levy CIESIN, Earth Institute Columbia University [email protected] World Data Center for Human Interactions in the Environment
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Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Jan 12, 2020

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Page 1: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and

Climate ChangeMarc A. Levy

CIESIN, Earth InstituteColumbia University

[email protected]

World Data Center for Human Interactions in the

Environment

Page 2: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Why it matters

1. More people are living in harm’s way2. There are more harms on the way3. The patterns are uneven, and surprising

catastrophes are likely4. There are no easy responses – it will take

sustained, coordinated, focused effort

Page 3: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

1) More People are Living in Harm’s Way

Breakthroughs in how georeferenced data can be processed, integrated and analyzed make it possible to characterize natural disaster risks much more precisely than before

We try to focus on risks from multiple hazards

We try to focus on multiple impacts – disasters can affect- development - conflict potential- humanitarian crises- public health- migration

Page 4: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Global Natural Disaster “Hotspots” - Mortality

• Areas of high relative risk based on mortalityHazards examined: drought, flood, landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones

Page 5: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Global Natural Disaster “Hotspots” – Economic Losses

• Areas of high relative risk based on economic lossesHazards examined: drought, flood, landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones

Page 6: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Global Natural Disaster “Hotspots” – Economic Losses Relative to GDP

• Areas of high relative risk based on economic losses as a proportion of GDP densityHazards examined: drought, flood, landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones

Page 7: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

These hotspots are defined by locating places in highest 3 deciles, globally, of physical exposure

Page 8: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

These hotspots are defined by locating places in highest 3 deciles, globally, of physical exposure

Page 9: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

These hotspots are defined by locating places in highest 3 deciles, globally, of deaths attributed to hazard exposure

Page 10: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

These hotspots are defined by locating places in highest 3 deciles, globally, of deaths attributed to hazard exposure

Page 11: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

These hotspots are defined by locating places in highest 3 deciles, globally, of deaths attributed to hazard exposure

Page 12: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
Page 13: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

2) There are more harms on the way

Global change is underway on unprecedented scale

It’s more than just climate change – multiple stresses threaten ecological and social systems

These changes will alter historical patterns of some natural disasters – including floods, droughts, landslides, cyclones

Page 14: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Atmosphere

Page 15: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Slide courtesy James Hansen

Presenter�
Presentation Notes�
This causes the temperature to rise�
Page 16: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Melt descending into a moulin, a vertical shaftcarrying water to ice sheet base.

Source: Roger Braithwaite, University of Manchester (UK). Slide courtesy James Hansen

Surface Melt on Greenland

Page 17: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Jakobshavn Ice Stream in Greenland

Discharge from major Greenland ice streams is accelerating markedly.

Source: Prof. Konrad

Steffen, Univ. of Colorado. Slide courtesy James Hansen

Page 18: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

~80% of world’s land surface has been significantly altered by direct human transformation

~40% of all photosynthesis appropriate by humans

Page 19: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Unprecedented change in structure and function of ecosystems

More land was converted to cropland since 1945 than in the 18th

and 19th centuries combined

Cultivated Systems in 2000 cover 25% of Earth’s terrestrial surface

(Defined as areas where at least 30% of the landscape is in croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production, or freshwater aquaculture)

Page 20: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Unprecedented change: Aquatic Ecosystems

– Amount of water in reservoirs quadrupled since 1960

– Withdrawals from rivers and lakes doubled since 1960

Intercepted Continental Runoff: 3-6 times as much water in reservoirs as

in natural rivers

(Data from a subset of large reservoirs totaling ~65% of the global total

storage)

Presenter�
Presentation Notes�
most water use (70% worldwide) is for agriculture. �
Page 21: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Unprecedented change: Biogeochemical Cycles

Since 1960:– Flows of biologically

available nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems doubled

– Flows of phosphorus tripled

> 50% of all the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer ever used has been used since 1985

Human-produced Reactive Nitrogen

Humans produce as much biologically available N as all natural pathways and this may grow a further 65% by

2050

Presenter�
Presentation Notes�
Synthetic N was first manufactured in 1913. Since 1750, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 32% (from about 280 to 376 parts per million in 2003), primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels and land use changes.�
Page 22: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Significant and largely irreversible changes to species diversity

– Humans have increased the species extinction rate by as much as 1,000 times over background rates typical over the planet’s history

– 10–30% of mammal, bird, and amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction

Page 23: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Geographic extent of maximum fish catch

Source: Daniel Pauly, University of British Columbia)

Page 24: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
Page 25: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
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Drylands are a special case: very dangerous combination of

- Poor baseline conditions-Socioeconomic stresses increasing (esp. populationgrowth)

-Climatic stresses increasing(droughts likely to increase)- Weak institutional capacity

Page 28: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Coastal areas also under extreme pressure; some are very vulnerable

Page 29: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

The 1990s increase in population density in the coastal zone is greater than current total density worldwide, for most of the world’s land surface

Page 30: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Total Population in 10-m LECZ

Percentage of Population in 10-m LECZ

To help characterize sea-level rise risk, we identified 10- meter “Low-Elevation Coastal Zones” (LECZs) and counted population within them, by country

Page 31: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
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46% of pop.

37% of pop.

Page 33: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

3) The patterns are uneven, and surprising catastrophes are likely

Vulnerability is a function of physical exposure to hazards and underlying socioeconomic patterns of resilience.

Both exposure and resilience are distributed highly unevenly, in complex ways

We can identify some regions as more dangerous than others, but we cannot reliably predict end-of-chain consequences

There are good reasons to be worried about high-impact catastrophes

Page 34: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
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Drought (3 consecutive overlapping 3-month seasons with rainfall at least 50% below normal)

Not poor Somewhat poor Moderately poor

Poor Extremely poor

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

% o

f pop

ulat

ion

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 121314 15 19

Drought frequency 1980-2000

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

% o

f pop

ulat

ion

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 121314 1519

Drought frequency 1980-2000

Page 37: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreak Risk

Determined through analysis of historical spatial pattern of all known EIDs, examining effect of human population, wildlife population, and climate

Page 38: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Deciles of Rainfall Deviation(1=below normal; 10=above normal)

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

Prob

abili

ty o

f Hig

h-In

tens

ity O

utbr

eak ] ]

]

]

]]

]

]

]

]

Conditional Probability of High-IntensityOutbreak, by Rainfall Deviation Decile,given ongoing Low or Medium Intensity Conflict

Page 40: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Illustration: Nepal 2002 Outbreak

1

21

4

n=decile of rainfall deviation measure

Page 41: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Rainfall Deviations in Nepal 1979 - 2002

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1979 1984 1989 1994 1999

Year

Sum

of m

onth

ly d

evia

tions

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Non-conflict Zone .Conflict Zone .

Page 42: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Source: Vörösmarty et al. 2000

• 80% of future stress frompopulation

& development, not climate change!

• Future distortions of thewater cycle are inevitable

Water Stress Changes to 2025

UNH

Less stressNo changeMore stress

Page 43: Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Changesrdis.ciesin.columbia.edu/documents/assessingthreats_levy.pdf · Assessing Threats from Natural Disasters and Climate Change

4) There are no easy responses – it will take sustained, focused efforts

What would be most helpful:

Comprehensive assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards in context of both global change and socioeconomic change

- Baseline vulnerability to natural hazards- Plausible projections of physical and social stresses- Identification of simple, direct threats (floods, droughts, disease, etc)- Elaboration of complex scenarios of interest- Articulation of strategies to increase resilience and preparedness

Military sector cannot do this in a vacuum

What’s at stake is more than simple ability to cope with disasters; government legitimacy also vulnerable