World economy loses $8bn due to climate threats – WMO

The Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Celeste Saulo, has said the world economy has so far lost about $8 billion due to climate change threats.

She stated this on Monday in Abuja at the 2024 annual edition of the Regional Climate Outlook Forum of the seasonal forecasting of Agro-Hydro-Climatic characteristics of the Sahelian and Sudan region of West Africa hosted by Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA). 

She said, “More than 110 million people were directly affected by the adverse effects of climate change which has led to the loss of $8 billion in global economic losses which is why the United Nations is taking deliberate plans for early warning in numerical weather conditions in partnership with the World Meteorological Organisation.”

In his address, the Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, said scientists from the African region and beyond who will be running different models and analyses for the next four days are to come out with robust seasonal outlook for the region as it is key in achieving the United Nations’ Early Warning for All and boot economic growth.

He said, “This year’s Regional Climate Outlook is timely because weather and climate events continue to exact a toll on our regional economy despite the tremendous advances and investments in climate science and operational forecasting over the past century.”

Anosike added that it is important that, “The experts come up with usable but actionable documents that will boost production and provide early warning that will reduce climate induced disasters and economic losses across the region.”