Climate emergency on Earth and the effects of climate change

For years, planet Earth has been facing a climate emergency. Natural disasters have been occurring for years, and their frequency has been increasing. Not only that, but the effects of climate change are becoming ever more catastrophic, leading to a problem that affects everyone.

That is why it is necessary to take control of the situation, since, up to now, humans, animals, and plants have no other planet to inhabit, and if this one starts to fail, we will have nowhere to live.

Climate emergency around the world

Over the years, a series of natural disasters such as storms, hurricanes, floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, fires have occurred... they happen suddenly and destroy everything, causing many people to lose what they have and forcing them to move to other territories.

In 2022, disasters caused a record 32,6 million displacements, of which 98% were caused by climate-related hazards according to the International Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC).

However, far from considering that this only affects the poorest regions of the planet, it is also a reality for high-income countries. For example, in the United States there were 1,7 million displaced people in 2020 or in Australia, 51.000 displaced people. And these data continue to rise and affect more and more people.

Currently, five countries are considered the most vulnerable (and with the largest refugee populations) to the climate crisis. These are: Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Venezuela.

But the UN itself warns that, right now, there is no country in the world that has not suffered the effects of climate change. It's a reality that can be felt in the air: extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and global warming are issues of great concern. Even more so are the repercussions of this crisis, as devastating as they are silent: hunger, displacement…

In the words of Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN: «The impacts of this crisis are greatest where fragility and conflict have weakened survival mechanisms; where people depend on natural capital for their livelihood; and where women, who bear the greatest burden of the climate emergency, do not enjoy the same rights.

The effects of climate change that are already occurring

While climate change is a disastrous situation that has been developing over the long term, we have reached a point where either we start acting, or the cost of doing nothing and allowing the number of people needing humanitarian aid due to the impact of climate to continue growing will be impossible to cope with.

Much of the blame for what is happening lies with human activities, such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions or the burning of fossil fuels. And the effects have been occurring and increasing for years.

Among the most important effects of climate change are:

• Global temperature rise: It is a reality that the planet is warming. Year after year the Earth's temperature rises. According to NASA data, in 1880 the average temperature was -0,16°C. In the period between 2016 and 2020, this temperature already exceeds 1ºC. In 2023 it will be around 1,40ºC. Which indicates that the rise is increasing and is occurring faster and faster.
  The fact that the Earth has increasingly higher temperatures on the land and ocean surface means that all life has to adapt or die.
• Change in weather patterns: Heavy rains, hurricanes, droughts, floods, fires... are now a reality that cover the news with greater frequency. and it is expected that more and more events occur, affecting human, animal and plant life.
• Deglaciation and sea level rise: The ice at the poles is melting and it is something we have been hearing for years. And global warming is to blame for this. As a consequence, sea level is rising, forcing many to have to leave their homes to move to other territories in search of a new life, sometimes without resources to survive.
• Impact on ecosystems: Animal and plant species themselves have been suffering for years due to climate change; Their loss or change of habitat, the obligation to migrate or become extinct are situations that are leaving the planet without species.
• Threat to food security: Agricultural production is one of the most affected by climatic variations and the effects that occur. But this directly influences food production, which implies food insecurity, increasingly present in poorer countries. In these places food is scarce and hunger is part of their daily lives.
• Lack of water: Along with food, water is another essential good for life, not only human, but also animal and plant. And changes in precipitation patterns, as well as increased evaporation due to global warming, are contributing to a shortage that will affect more and more regions of the world.
• Today, The countries that are already suffering from this climate effect are Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar. And in the near term future there is no doubt that the list will increase significantly.
• Population displacement: Due to all of the above, people, entire communities, may be forced to abandon their land, their home, their life, to find a place where climatic events can allow them to live.
• That is why It is important to take measures to mitigate these effects to achieve a more sustainable and resilient future. And in this regard, UNHCR is in charge of protecting refugees and displaced people, with climate change and its consequences being one of the main causes of human displacement in the world.

EACNUR, humanitarian aid to alleviate the climate effect

Climate change is causing millions of displacements, and that's why the UN Refugee Agency is there to offer these people shelter and assistance. Among its current environmental challenges are reducing its environmental impact and providing aid to climate refugees and victims of natural disasters when requested by the affected governments.

In recent years, the Spanish Committee for UNHCR, responsible for raising awareness and funds for UNHCR's humanitarian projects, has experienced significant growth thanks to the support and solidarity of thousands of Spaniards. But all help is welcome, whether as a member, through donations, or by collaborating in any way with the Spanish Committee for UNHCR and supporting its humanitarian work.

Planet Earth belongs to everyone. And if we want to minimize the effects of climate change, we all have to do our part. Are you willing to do yours?