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Climate change can cause economic losses of 12,500 billion dollars and 14.5 million deaths by 2050, according to a report by the World Economic Forum, released in Davos on 16 January. The effects of global warming disproportionately affect the poorest countries and the most vulnerable sections of the population: the climate crisis will therefore worsen global inequalities.
Extreme events
There are six main categories of climate events analyzed by relationship, created in collaboration with Oliver Wyman: floods, droughts, heat waves, tropical storms, wildfires and sea level rise. Extreme weather events, set to become increasingly severe and frequent as global temperatures rise. 2023 was the warmest year in history and 2024 could break this record.
The highest risk, in terms of mortality, is represented by floods: according to the study, they could cause 8.5 million deaths by 2050.
Drought, indirectly linked to extreme heat, is the second leading cause of mortality (3.2 million deaths).
The greatest economic cost, however, is that of heat waves: 7,100 billion dollars wasted due to the loss of productivity that these events can cause.