Brazil ranks 79th among countries impacted by climate change

A study surveyed the period between 1998 and 2017

Published on 04/12/2018 - 16:49 By Débora Brito - Brasília

Brazil occupies the 79th position among 168 countries ranked according to the impact made by extreme climate events—like storms and tropical cyclones—in 2017. The country climbed 10 positions from the previous year’s Global Climate Risk Index for Climate Risk.

The figures were released Tuesday (Dec. 4) by Germanwatch during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. The event is being held in Katowice, Poland, and is slated to end on December 14.

The report says that, from 1998 to 2017, over 15 thousand people died in Brazil due to climate events. Last year alone, at least 30 people died. In 20 years, costs stemming from catastrophes averaged more than $1.7 million a year in the country.

The study gauges the impact made by climate events on countries last year and in the period comprising 1998–2017. Eight of every ten nations said to have been affected by climate-related catastrophes are poor or developing countries.

All across the world, 2017 was the year with the highest number of losses linked to climate in history. Some 526 thousand people were reported killed in over 11.5 thousand natural disasters from 1998 to 2017. Financial losses in this time frame added up to $3.47 trillion.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Denise Griesinger / Mariana Branco

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