Asia was the world’s most disaster-hit region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said on Tuesday, with floods and storms being the chief cause of casualties and economic losses.

According to the report, in India, severe heatwaves in April and June resulted in about 110 reported fatalities due to heatstroke.

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Floods and storms caused the highest number of reported casualties and economic losses, whilst the impact of heatwaves became more severe, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

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, which will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region.

The report said Asia was warming faster than the global average. The warming trend has nearly doubled since the 1961–1990 period.

In 2023, over 80 per cent of reported hydrometeorological hazards in Asia were flood and storm events, according to the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) data.

In India, Yemen, and Pakistan, floods were the natural hazard event which caused the greatest number of fatalities, highlighting the continuing high level of vulnerability of Asia to natural hazard events, especially floods.

A major and prolonged heatwave affected much of South-East Asia in April and May, extending as far west as Bangladesh and Eastern India, and north to southern China, with record breaking temperatures.

“The report’s conclusions are sobering. 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,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

In 2023, sea-surface temperatures in the north-west Pacific Ocean were the highest on record, even the Arctic Ocean suffered a marine heatwave.

Last year, Southwest China suffered from a drought, with below-normal precipitation levels nearly every month of 2023, and the rains associated with the Indian Summer Monsoon were below average.

Several extreme precipitation events took place in 2023. In June, July and August, several floods and storm events resulted in more than 600 reported deaths across India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

In 2023, a total of 79 disasters associated with hydrometeorological hazard events were reported in Asia according to the Emergency Events Database. Of these, over 80 per cent were related to flood and storm events, with more than 2000 fatalities and nine million people directly affected.

Many parts of Asia experienced extreme heat events in 2023. Japan experienced its hottest summer on record. China experienced 14 high temperature events in summer, with about 70 per cent of national meteorological stations exceeding 40 degree Celsius and 16 stations breaking their temperature records.

The report, one of a series of WMO regional State of the Climate reports, was released during the 80th session of the Commission in Bangkok, Thailand.