In reacting to climate change, the world should respond with the same urgency as the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Cross stated on Tuesday. It cautioned that global warming poses a bigger threat than the novel coronavirus.
According to a new report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), as the coronavirus becomes more prevalent, climate change is not taking a hiatus from wreaking mayhem.
The virus displays the reason behind no global action is underway on climate change. The pandemic adversely affected daily life, causing prevalent illness and death and sending the world economy into a downfall, reported GlobalShutTalk.
The ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases is reportedly alarming as recent world figures from Worldometer display over 50 million COVID-19 cases, over 1 million fatalities, over 30 million recoveries, and over 15 million diagnosed with the virus.
In the United States, there have been over 11 million reported cases, over 7 million recoveries, and over 200 million fatalities.
Jagan Chapagain, Secretary-General of IFRC, spoke at the launch of the IFRC's World Disasters Report 2020 on Tuesday, which detects that a rising wave of extreme weather and climate-related events have led to an estimated 410,000 deaths over the past ten years.
According to Chapagain, "Of course, the COVID is there, it's in front of us, it is affecting our families, our friends, our relatives. It's a very, very serious crisis the world is facing currently," reported Health Policy Watch.
Chapagain cautioned that "climate change will have a more significant medium and long term impact on the human life and on Earth... and unfortunately, there is no vaccine for climate change."
Also Read: Climate Change: Food Shortage To Triple By 2040 Due To Extreme Weather
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 as a pandemic, the globe has been hit by over 100 disasters, and more than 50 million people worldwide have been impacted.
Speaking further, Chapagain underscored that while the world would get a COVID-19 vaccine sooner or later, there is no vaccine for climate change. He cautioned that global warming would need more sustained action and investment to shield human life.
It is estimated that nearly $50 billion would be necessitated yearly over the next decade to help the 50 developing nations to adjust to climate change.
According to the Red Cross, the frequency and acuteness of weather and climate events have been consistently increasing since the 1960s.
The world was hit by 308 natural disasters in 2019. Seventy-seven percent of them are climate or weather-related, with an estimated 24,400 fatalities.
Governments have implemented unprecedented measures to close entire cities, segregate countries, and ban sanctions. Meteorologists seek that such ambitious policies could address global warming and understand existential warning signs.
However, most inhibitors that restrain an effective COVID-19 response avoid touching on the changing climate.
The alarming figures, the downfall of livelihoods and economies, the grieving of people over the loss of lives, the crippling anxiety about contracting the virus, and the uncertainty over discovering a COVID-19 vaccine appear to be playing second fiddle to the greater tragedy that is climate change.
Related Article: Freshwater Shortage May Worsen Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture
