َّ ِ‫الرحْ ٰم ِن‬

ِ‫الر ِحي ِْم‬ َّ ِ‫للا‬

ِ ِ‫س ِم‬
ْ ‫ِب‬
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

BBA 4TH M3

Course: Environmental Sciences

Assignment 2: incident of global warming
Submitted to: Dr. Owais Shafique
Submitted by: Hira Ubaid
Roll no. 164
Date of submission: 16th July, 2021
Climate hazards are natural events in weather cycles. We’ve always had
hurricanes, droughts and wildfires, flooding and high winds. However, we are
currently witnessing a scale of destruction and devastation that is new and
terrifying.

The last year alone has seen a series of devastating climate disasters in various
parts of the world such as Cyclone Idai, deadly heatwaves in India, Pakistan, and
Europe, and flooding in south-east Asia. From Mozambique to Bangladesh
millions of people have already lost their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones as a
result of more dangerous and more frequent extreme weather events.

Why are the weather events so severe?

Simply put, changes in the global climate exacerbate climate hazards and amplify
the risk of extreme weather disasters. Increases of air and water temperatures
lead to rising sea levels, supercharged storms and higher wind speeds, more
intense and prolonged droughts and wildfire seasons, heavier precipitation and
flooding. The evidence is overwhelming and the results devastating:

The number of climate-related disasters has tripled in the last 30 years.

Between 2006 and 2016, the rate of global sea-level rise was 2.5 times faster than
it was for almost all of the 20th century.

More than 20 million people a year are forced from their homes by climate
change.
The United Nations Environment Program estimates that adapting to climate
change and coping with damages will cost developing countries $140-300 billion
per year by 2030.

Australian wildfires:

The start of 2020 found Australia in the midst of its worst-ever bushfire season –
following on from its hottest year on record which had left soil and fuels
exceptionally dry. The fires have burned through more than 10 million hectares,
killed at least 28 people, razed entire communities to the ground, taken the
homes of thousands of families, and left millions of people affected by a
hazardous smoke haze. More than a billion native animals have been killed, and
some species and ecosystems may never recover.
Impact:

The bushfires burned more than 46 million acres (72,000 square miles) – roughly
the same area as the entire country of Syria. At least 3,500 homes and thousands
of other buildings were lost and 34 people died in the thousands of fires between
September 2019 and March 2020. The majority of deaths and destruction were in
New South Wales (NSW), while the Northern Territory accounted for
approximately 1/3 of the burned area. At least 80% of the Blue Mountains World
Heritage area in NSW and 53% of the Gondwana world heritage rainforests in
Queensland (QLD) were burned. Many of the other buildings that were lost were
farm buildings, adding to the challenge of agricultural recovery that is already
complex because of ash-covered farmland accompanied by historic levels of
drought.

The Insurance Council estimated that between November and the middle of
February – when most fires were under control – bushfire losses were
approximately $A1.9 billion (US$1.3 billion) in insured claims. It may not be
possible to completely calculate the economic loss from the bushfires because of
the difficulties in evaluating intangible losses such as loss of income and
productivity, as well as the confluence with the impact from COVID-19. A survey
conducted in January 2020 found that 26% of Australian businesses had already
been affected by the bushfires. Some estimates have stated that the overall
economic impact will exceed the infamous Black Saturday fires that cost $A4.4
billion (US$2.9 billion). There was also a significant impact on Australian fishing
and tourism industries, which was compounded by lockdowns and travel bans
related to COVID-19.
Several firefighters – called firies in Australia – were killed or injured. Many
firefighters were volunteers and laid-off fire management staff who were asked
to report back to work without pay.