Summary/Abstract
This synthesis report summarizes the state of the climate and the extreme events and their socioeconomic impacts in Asia in 2022.
Across 2022, Asia faced a number of challenges associated with climate change. According to the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), in 2022, 81 natural hazard events were reported in Asia; of these, over 83% were flood and storm events. These events led to over 5,000 fatalities, 90% of which were associated with flooding. Overall, natural hazard events directly impacted more than 50 million people and resulted in over US$ 36 billion in damages. Economic losses in 2022 due to disasters relating to floods exceeded the average for the 2002–2021 period. The most significant losses of this type were in Pakistan (over US$ 15 billion), followed by China (over US$ 5 billion), and India (over US$ 4.2 billion). Glaciers in the High Mountain Asia region have lost significant mass over the past 40 years, and this loss is accelerating. In 2022, exceptionally warm and dry conditions exacerbated the mass loss for most glaciers. Drought affected many parts of the region, reducing water availability. The economic losses in 2022 as a result of the drought in China, for example, were estimated to exceed US$ 7.6 billion.