Geneva (The Hawk): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a warning on Friday that climate change is severely impacting vulnerable people all over the world, particularly those who reside in conflict zones or lack adequate access to basic medical care.
According to a joint statement from the ICRC and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the majority of the 25 nations that are most at risk from climate change are simultaneously dealing with armed conflict and a lack of access to basic healthcare.
"People's lives, health, and livelihoods are jeopardised when climate shocks occur in nations with inadequate food, water, and economic resources," the statement stated.
Recent years have seen an unpredictable sequence of floods and droughts in Somalia, worsening an already severe humanitarian situation brought on by three decades of violent strife.
According to the statement, humanitarian groups have also responded to severe drought in the Horn of Africa, flooding in South Sudan and the Sahel, deadly cyclones in Madagascar and Mozambique, and flooding in the Sahel. Health and humanitarian crises are deteriorating as a result of the climate crisis, it was said.
"We are concerned about the present situation and the predictions for the future as humanitarians. Droughts, floods, insect plagues, and altered rainfall patterns are all potential threats to food supply and human survival. Extreme and violent weather occurrences like cyclones, which devastate vital health infrastructure, are becoming increasingly frequent. Destructive illnesses like cholera, dengue fever, and malaria are evolving in their patterns "The declaration said.
If prompt and ambitious mitigation measures are not implemented, further warming will have severe effects in a world that has already warmed by 1.2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. In order for the most badly impacted nations to be able to adapt to rising climate hazards, adequate help must be deployed.
The 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which will take place from November 6–18, will bring together representatives from all over the world in the Egyptian beach city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, urged multilateralism and diplomacy on Thursday to make the COP27 a "turning point for optimism."
(Inputs from Agencies)