Climate Change to cost world $12.5trl, 14.5mln lives by 2050 – WEF Report

MOSCOW, January 16 (Sputnik) – Climate change will cost the world $12.5 trillion in economic losses by 2050 and 14.5 million lives, in addition to an increased risk of spreading diseases among an extra 500 million people in the hottest regions, according to a report by the World Economic Forum published on Tuesday.

“By 2050, climate change is likely to cause an additional 14.5 million deaths and $12.5 trillion in economic losses worldwide,” the report read.

The highest human toll risks are associated with floods and droughts, which are expected to cause 8.5 million and 3.2 million deaths, respectively, in the next 26 years, the authors wrote. The highest economic impact, on the other hand, is associated with waves of abnormal heat, forecast to cause $7.1 trillion in economic losses through 2050, followed by droughts and floods incurring losses of $3.2 million and $1.6 million, respectively.

Geographically, the regions most susceptible to the impact of climate change are Asia, which the WEF experts expect to incur $3.5 trillion in losses, followed by Europe with $2.6 trillion and South America with $2.2 trillion.

An additional threat, as climate change makes an impact, will come from a catastrophic surge in vector-borne diseases. The higher temperatures rise, the vaster the mosquito habitat will grow, pushing “the expansion of diseases like malaria, dengue and Zika” to new, less affected climate areas, according to the data from the WEF report. Consequently, 500 million people more will be at risk of contracting such infections.