Red Cross figures show that there were about 354 natural disasters throughout the world each year from 1991 to 1999. This figure increased to an average of 728 natural disasters each year between 2000 and 2004. Disasters such as tsunamis and hurricanes take lives and destroy people’s livelihoods.

Effects of climate change
According to the World Health Organisation, major diseases such as malnutrition, malaria, dengue and diarrhoeal diseases are expected to worsen as climate changes.

In Kenya, climate change causes an increase in malaria. As the temperature rises in high altitudes, towns purposefully built above mosquito levels are now subject to new risks of malaria epidemics.

In Nepal, climate change causes droughts. With the rising temperatures, the Himalayan glaciers are now melting throughout the winter. This will leave thousands of villages without fresh water as the rivers flowing from the mountains run dry in the summer heat.

In Vietnam, climate change causes starvation. The rising sea levels are threatening to flood the Mekong Delta, the country’s largest rice-growing area, with the risk of causing severe food shortages, leaving millions to starve.

Climate change is also happening on our own doorstep. Many towns like Cockermouth in the United Kingdom have suffered from terrible flooding, exerting severe and lasting mental stress on the distraught populations whose lives have been ruined.

Poor population's vulnerability
Poor people in developing countries are much more vulnerable to the devastating effects of increasing natural catastrophes. Due to a lack of investment and infrastructure, they are unable to prepare for catastrophes and repair the damages incurred.

Dangerous development initiatives are also increasing the risks of disaster. Excessive and unsustainable farming or blind deforestation lead to environmental degradation, causing dramatic landslides or devastating droughts.

With an increase in the spread of infectious diseases, malnutrition and the negative impact of disasters on the mental health of those affected, it is important for climate change discussions to include health concerns.

For more information on climate change, visit the World Health Organisation's website.