The United Nations: Humanity is in a “self-destructive spiral”

The United Nations warned Tuesday that humanity suffers from a "misperception of risk" that is exacerbating the activities and behaviors that are causing climate change and a growing number of disasters around the world.

In a new report, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction found that between 350 and 500 medium-to-large-scale disasters have occurred worldwide annually over the past two decades.

This is five times more than the average over the previous three decades, he said.

With climate change, catastrophic events from droughts, extreme temperatures and devastating floods are expected to occur more frequently in the future.

The report estimated that by 2030 we will face 560 disasters around the world each year, an average of 1.5 disasters per day.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction added in a statement that the sharp rise in the number of disasters globally could be attributed to "a misperception of risk based on optimism, downplaying importance and a sense of invulnerability."

He estimated that this leads to policy, financing and development decisions that exacerbate vulnerabilities and put people at risk.

 In the statement, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed warned that ignoring the great dangers we face "puts humanity in a spiral of self-destruction."

Ignoring the risks has come at a heavy price, with the report finding that disasters around the world have cost nearly $170 billion annually over the past decade.

But most disasters happen in low-income countries, which lose an average of 1 percent of their GDP to disasters annually, compared to just 0.1 to 0.2 percent in the richest countries.

The report pointed out that the Asia and Pacific regions suffered the largest economic losses.

As the number of disasters increases, so will the costs.

The report estimated that another 37.6 million people will live in extreme poverty by 2030 due to the effects of climate change and disasters.

Most catastrophe-related losses are not covered by insurers. Since 1980, only about 40 percent of losses have been covered globally, but the proportion in developing countries drops to less than 10 percent.

"Disasters can be prevented, but only if countries invest time and resources to understand and reduce their risks," the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, stressed in the statement.

But she warned that "by willfully ignoring the risks and not taking them into account in the decision-making process, the world is effectively financing its destruction."

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