GENEVA: Asia was the world’s most disaster-hit region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said Tuesday, with floods and storms the chief cause of casualties and economic losses.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the UN’s weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.
The World Meteorological Organization said the impact of heatwaves in Asia was becoming more severe, with melting glaciers threatening the region’s future water security.
The WMO said Asia was warming faster than the global average, with temperatures last year nearly two degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average.
“The report’s conclusions are sobering,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo said in a statement.
“Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a barrage of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms.
“Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies, and, most importantly, human lives and the environment that we live in.”
The State of the Climate in Asia 2023 report highlighted the accelerating rate of key climate change indicators such as surface temperature, glacier retreat and sea level rise, saying they would have serious repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region.
“Asia remained the world’s most disaster-hit region from weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023,” the WMO said.
Ranging disasters
The annual mean near-surface temperature over Asia in 2023 was the second highest on record, at 0.91 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, and 1.87 C above the 1961-1990 average.
Particularly high average temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia, and from eastern China to Japan, the report said, with Japan having its hottest summer on record.
As for precipitation, it was below normal in the Himalayas and in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile southwest China suffered from a drought, with below-normal precipitation levels in nearly every month of the year.
The High-Mountain Asia region, centered on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions.
Over the last several decades, most of these glaciers have been retreating, and at an accelerating rate, the WMO said, with 20 out of 22 monitored glaciers in the region showing continued mass loss last year.
The report said 2023 sea-surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean were the highest on record.
Water-related hazards
Last year, 79 disasters associated with water-related weather hazards were reported in Asia. Of those, more than 80 percent were floods and storms, with more than 2,000 deaths and nine million people directly affected.
“Floods were the leading cause of death in reported events in 2023 by a substantial margin,” the WMO said, noting the continuing high level of vulnerability of Asia to natural hazard events.
Hong Kong recorded 158.1 millimeters of rainfall in one hour on September 7 — the highest since records began in 1884, as a result of a typhoon.
The WMO said there was an urgent need for national weather services across the region to improve tailored information to officials working on reducing disaster risks.
“It is imperative that our actions and strategies mirror the urgency of these times,” said Saulo.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the evolving climate is not merely an option, but a fundamental necessity.”

ISLAMABAD: The interior ministers of Pakistan and Iran on Monday decided to ban “terrorist organizations” in their respective countries, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report, as both countries move to bolster strained ties during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s ongoing visit to Pakistan. 

Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts, with Islamabad being historically closer to Saudi Arabia and the United States. Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.

Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Both sides have since then undertaken peace overtures and restored bilateral ties.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Iranian counterpart, Dr. Ahmad Vahidi, met in Islamabad on Monday to discuss bilateral issues and matters of mutual interests. 

“Pakistan and Iran on Monday decided in principle to ban terrorist organizations in their respective countries,” the APP said.

“The two sides agreed on a joint plan of action to deal with the menace of terrorism being a common problem, with further improving mutual support and exchange of intelligence information.”

The two representatives decided to sign a security agreement regarding their decision “at the earliest,” the state-run media said. 

Naqvi and Dr. Vahidi also decided to increase cooperation in border management and take steps to prevent smuggling and trafficking of drugs.

“Minister Naqvi said that smuggling was a cause of economic loss for both countries and its prevention through border management would help promote mutual trade,” the APP said. “The two sides also agreed to activate the border markets as soon as possible.”

It was also decided that Iran would extend all possible facilities to Pakistani pilgrims who visit Karbala in Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage. The Iranian interior minister invited Naqvi to visit Iran to assess the arrangements. 

Both sides also agreed to waive fines imposed on their nationals imprisoned in each other’s country.

Raisi arrived in Islamabad on Monday for a three-day visit to Pakistan, accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation of cabinet members and businesspersons. The two countries signed eight accords and memorandums of agreement in trade, technology, health, culture, information and judicial matters. Both countries agreed to enhance bilateral trade to $10 billion. 

The Iranian president met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and army chief General Syed Asim Munir on Monday. He is scheduled to visit Pakistan’s southern port city Karachi, also its commercial hub, on Tuesday and meet the country’s provincial leadership there.