In 2021, the cost of global disasters reached 77 billion dollars. In the evaluation made by the Uskudar University Environmental Ethics Forum, attention was drawn to global disasters worldwide in 2021, while environmental disasters experienced in our country were also reminded. Many environmental disasters were included, from the sea snot affecting the Marmara Sea to the forest fires that started in Manavgat district of Antalya on July 28, 2021. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir stated that the cost of global disasters in 2021 reached 77 billion dollars.
Uskudar University Environmental Ethics Platform evaluated the environmental disasters experienced in the world and in our country in 2021.
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir: “We continue to grapple with major problems”
Uskudar University Environmental Ethics Forum Director Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, in his introductory article titled “Our responsibility to consider the consequences of global warming,” said: “We have three years left until the end of the first quarter of the 21st century (2025). However, far from our dreams for the new century coming true, we continue to grapple with very major problems. Some of these problems, as we saw in the example of the pandemic we experienced, even scientists could not predict. On the other hand, some problems that scientists predicted and warned us about were not believed by people living in a Post-Truth era; or they did not want to believe them. Global warming and the climate change it causes are at the forefront of these problems.”
The cost of disasters in 2021 is 77 billion dollars
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir noted that we must once again look at the climate change-related disasters experienced in 2021 and try to understand the problems we face without denying them. He added, “It is necessary to think about whether we have a moral responsibility towards future generations, that is, our children, grandchildren, and all living things, and to start the change with ourselves. Firstly, some of the extraordinary disasters we experienced in 2021 are natural, and some are human-induced. According to the Swiss company “Swiss Re,” headquartered in Zurich, the cost of natural and human error-induced disasters in the first six months of 2021 reached 77 billion dollars. Accordingly, natural disasters accounted for 74 billion dollars, and human-induced disasters for 3 billion dollars in economic loss. In the world of insurance and economics, where everything is measured with material criteria (in dollars), the spiritual loss and tragedies caused by these disasters have not been included. However, we must remember that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) once again confirmed that global warming is human-induced in its latest report published on August 9, 2021.”
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir stated that they will continue to inform society, public institutions, and NGOs about climate change and environmental problems in 2022.
The evaluation made by the Uskudar University Environmental Ethics Platform included many environmental disasters experienced in our country and worldwide. The prominent topics in the report were listed as follows:
Turkey experienced forest fires and the nightmare of mucilage
Many environmental disasters occurred, from the sea snot affecting the Marmara Sea to the forest fires that started in Manavgat district of Antalya on July 28, 2021. As of August 12, 2021, it was noted that 8 people lost their lives in 299 forest fires that broke out in 49 provinces, mostly in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Western Black Sea, and Southeastern Anatolia Regions; hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and settlements turned to ash, and thousands of animals died.
Black Sea flood disaster cost 82 lives
It was reported that as a result of floods, inundations, and landslides caused by excessive rainfall in the Western Black Sea in November, a total of 82 people lost their lives, 228 people were injured, and missing person reports were filed for 16 individuals. The evaluation stated, “Kastamonu, Sinop, and Bartın were declared disaster zones. Large amounts of resources, especially for education and health, were used to heal the wounds caused by the disaster. The flood disaster in the Western Black Sea was recorded as one of the most significant floods in the history of the Republic of Turkey.”
Global environmental disasters were also included
It was explained that a cold and freezing cold wave affected Texas, where a temperate climate prevails in the southern United States, in February. As a result of the freezing temperatures, 125 people died in the state, and millions were left without electricity for days.
Hundreds of people died in the US and Canada's Pacific Northwest during a record-breaking heatwave in June. Scientists concluded that what happened would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. Within a few days, power lines melted, and roads buckled. Cities trying to cope with the heat opened cooling centers to protect their residents. In Portland (Oregon), the heatwave broke all-time records with 46.7 degrees Celsius.
The evaluation included information that approximately 200 people died as a result of floods affecting Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands in Europe in July.