Title: Prof. Odjugo, P. A. Ovuyovwiroye
1Powering Our Future With Weather, Climate and
Water
- Prof. Odjugo, P. A. Ovuyovwiroye
- Department of Geography and Regional Planning
- University of Benin, P. M. B. 1154, Benin City,
Edo State, Nigeria. - E-mail paoodjugo_at_yahoo.com
- Phone 2348023718654
- Also an Adjunct Research Professor with the
Centre for Population and Environmental
Protection (CPED), Shopping Complex, Ugbowo,
Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. - Paper presented at the 2012 World Meteorological
Day, Lagos, 23rd March, 2012
2INTRODUCTION
- In the current twist of climate change events, it
is becoming clearer that nature has drawn the
battle line with man on the planet earth since
the 1970s. - The forms of challenge on every living thing on
this planet will be two while some changes may
be positive, many others will have negative
impacts. - The negative natural weapons of war are being
shot on man and his environment, namely, the
earth warms, continental and sea ice melts,
rainfall intensity and amount increases in some
areas, sea levels rise, drought are becoming more
severe, among others.
3INTRODUCTION CONTD
-
- Such natural bullets will inflect injuries on our
todays earth and our descendants will inherit a
world full of injuries and ailments like
inundated coasts, flood, disappearing Island (too
much water), drought, desertified continental
interiors (too little water), increased
dangerous winds and storms (extreme weather) and
altered biodiversity. - Under this condition, our capacity for
innovation, leadership and community
responsibility will be tested. - Only those communities or nations that are strong
and well prepared will survive and the best
surviving strategy is to start empowering our
future today through sound knowledge of weather,
climate and water, for a sustainable future for
us and for generations to come, hence the theme
of this 2012 World Meteorological Day Powering
Our Future With Weather, Climate and Water.
4GLOBAL WEATHER EVENTS (1950-2010)
Fig 1 Great natural catastrophes worldwide
1950-2010 Number of events
5- With the exception of three years (1952, 1958 and
2009) all other years have one form of great
natural disaster or the other. - Of the four catastrophes, meteorological (34)
topped the list followed by geophysical (32),
hydrological (23) and climatological (11). - Climate and water related 68, while geophysical
(32) - Geophysical, meteorological and hydrological are
major occurrence since the 1950s while
climatological became a major feature in 1971 and
since then it has been re-occurring.
6Table 1 Decadal analysis of number of events of
great natural catastrophes worldwide between 1950
and 2010
Decade Geophysical Meteorological Hydrological Climatological Total
1950-1959 6.9 10.9 2.0 0.0 20.8
1960-1969 10.8 11.5 4.8 0.0 27.6
1970-1979 19.4 21 5.0 2.3 46.3
1980-1989 18 21.2 18.1 6.0 63.4
1990-1999 16.5 42.2 25.8 6.8 91.0
2000-2010 12.1 17.5 9.0 3.2 44.2
7Fig 4 Great natural catastrophes worldwide
1950-2010 Percentage distribution per financial
loss per event group
8- Between 1950-2010, great natural disasters
destroyed property worth US2.1tri (N315tri)
globally, i.e. average of US35m (N5.2bn)
annually. - Of this amount, 40 was lost to meteorological
disasters while 29 (geophysical), 25
(hydrological) and 6 (climatological). - Two groups climate-water related disasters
accounted for 71 of the total destruction cost
while geophysical events were 29. - Total number of deaths recorded within the study
period was 2,360,000. - Out of these deaths, geophysical disasters
accounted for 56, while meteorological (33),
hydrological (6) and climatological (5). - The climate-water related disasters caused 44
of the deaths while geophysical was 56. - What is noteworthy is that, while the
meteorological disasters destroyed more property
, geophysical disasters claimed more lives.
9Fig 5 Great natural catastrophes worldwide
1950-2010 Percentage distribution per deaths per
event group
10Fig 6 Great natural catastrophes in differently
developed economies
11- Developed economies (like USA, China, Japan etc.)
experienced more disasters and overall losses
while countries with low and/or lower middle
economies(India, Bangladesh) suffered more of
the deaths . - Developed economies have the money and
technologies to monitor, predict the occurrence
and evacuate those living within the disaster
zone before some of they occurs. - Moreover the developed economies of the world
also have better management strategies to cope
when disasters occur. - Such disaster preparedness, management techniques
and coping capabilities of the developed nations
actually reduce fatality levels when natural
catastrophes occur. - The poor nations (like Nigeria, Haiti, India,
Ethiopia), have no effective technologies to
monitor disasters and when they eventually occur,
they have no financial capability to cope with
the impacts.
12Table 2 The 10 deadliest natural disasters
worldwide between 1980-2010
Period Event Affected Area Overall losses Insured losses Deaths
Period Event Affected Area US m US m Deaths
12/1/2010 Earthquake Haiti Port-au-Prince, Petionville, Jacmel, Carrefour, Leogane, Petit Goave, Gressier 8,000 200 222,570
26/12/2004 Earthquake/ Tsunami Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives Malaysia 10,000 1,000 220,000
2-5/5/2008 Cyclone Nargis, storm surge Myanmar Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bugalay, Rangun, Irrawaddy, Bago, Karen, Mon, Laputta, Haing Kyi 4,000 140,000
29-30/4/1991 Tropical cyclone, storm surge Bangladesh Gulf of Bengal, Coxs Bazar, Chittagong, Bola, Noakhali districts, kutubodia 3000 100 139,000
8/18/2005 Earthquake Pakistan, India, Afghanistan 5,200 5 88,000
12/5/2008 Earthquake China Sichuan, Mianyang, Beichuan, Wenchuan, Shifang, Chengdu, Guangyuan, Ngawa, Yaan 85,000 300 84,000
July-Aug 2003 Heat wave, drought France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom 13,800 20 70,000
July Sept 2010 Heat wave Russian Federation Moscow region, Kolomna, Mokhovoye 400 56,000
20/6/1990 Earthquake Iran Caspian Sea, Gilan provinve, Manjil, Rudbar, Zanjan, Safid, Qazvin 7,100 100 40,000
8-19/12/199 Landslides, flash floods Venezuala Vargas, La Guaira Punta de Mulatos, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Yaracuy. Colombia 3200 220 30,000
13- Between 1980-2010
- Climate water related killed 655,000 (60)
people - Geophysical killed 434,000 (40) People
- Climate water related destroyed property worth
US 275m (53) - Geophysical accounted for US 257m (47) property
loss.
14Table 3 The 10 costliest natural disasters
worldwide ordered by overall losses between
1980-2010
Period Event Affected Area Overall losses Insured losses Deaths
Period Event Affected Area US m US m Deaths
25-30/8/2005 Hurricane Katrina, storm surge USA New Orleans, Slidell, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Waveland, Gulfport 125,000 62,200 1,322
17/1/1995 Earthquake Japan Hyogo, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto 100,000 3,000 6,430
12/5/2008 Earthquake China Sichuan, Mianyang, Beichuan, Wenchuan, Shifang, Chengdu, Guangyuan, Ngawa, Yaan 85,000 300 84,000
17/1/1994 Earthquake USA Northridge, Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Orange 44,000 15,300 61
6-14/9/2008 Hurricane Ike USA, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas 38,300 18,500 170
May-Sept 1998 Floods China Jangtsekiang, Songhua Jiang 30,700 1,000 4,159
27/2/2010 Earthquake, tsunami Chile Bio Bio, Concepcion, Talcahuano, Coronel, Dichato, Chilan, Del Maule, Talca, Curico 30,000 8,000 520
23/10/2004 Earthquake Japan Honshu, Niigata, Ojiya, Tokyo, Nagaoka, Yamakoshi 28,000 760 46
23-27/8/1992 Hurricane Andrew USA Florida, Homestead, Bahamas 26,500 17,000 62
27/6-13/8/1996 Floods China Guizhou, Guiyang, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangxi, jiangsu 24,000 445 3,048
15Plate 2a Christ Episcopal Church, 912 South
Beach Blvd, Bay St. Louis MS, before the
Hurricane Katrina of 15th July, 2005.
Plate 2b Same area at Plate 2a after the
Hurricane.
16Water resources and water risks
- The reality on any part of the earth is that
without water, nothing grows and with too much
water, all may be lost. - Water is fundamental to all forms of life, with a
key role in public health, agriculture, municipal
services, industry, hydropower, inland navigation
and environmental protection. - Globally, water scarcity remains a major problem,
affecting one in three people. In many places,
the situation is worsening, owing to rising
populations and growing household and industrial
demands. - Water supplies are increasingly scarce in many
areas including arid regions of South America and
Africa and inland regions of Asia and Australia,
leading to discussion as to whether water may one
day become a valuable commodity that is traded
like oil.
17- excessive water in the form of flash floods and
river plain floods can cause immense economic
damage and loss of life. - In 2011, many countries experienced devastating
floods Australia, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand the United States
and Nigeria, to name a few. - Adapting to increasing climate variability and
change through better water management requires
policy shifts and significant investments by
improving and sharing knowledge and information
on climate, water and adaptation measures, and
investing in comprehensive and sustainable data
collection and monitoring systems.
18- Quality climate data will be particularly
important for water management systems for shared
basins that span more than one country. There are
263 trans-boundary river and lake basins
worldwide. Sound scientific information is vital
to decision-making about the allocation of these
water supplies and investments in infrastructure.
- Drought early warning information systems,
consisting of monitoring, prediction, risk
assessment and communication, are inadequate in
most regions of the world including Nigeria.
19- Integrated flood management is the best solution
to flood problems and it embraces flood
preparedness and prevention strategies, rather
than purely emergency response. - It involves climate risk management, flood risk
assessment, land use regulation, flood insurance,
enhanced hydro-meteorological monitoring, flood
disaster preparedness, emergency management and
recovery.
20Estimated water situation in 2050
21Problems of too little water
22Problems of too much water
23Getting the World to work in Partnership
- Agriculture
- Poor and lack of fertilizers, water resources,
environmental degradation, pollution,
desertification, and competition from expanding
urban areas for land and labour are major stress
in agriculture. - Climate change will add pressure to the already
stressed food market, especially in rain-fed
agricultural societies. - To reduce the food stress, reliable weather,
climate and water information etc., are essential
to guide the food and agriculture sector. - Scientists should understand what farmers want
and that farmers know how to access and use the
information. This information must be downscaled
to meet national and community needs.
24- Cities
- United Nations data show that the worlds
population living in urban areas rose from 29 per
cent in 1950 to 50 per cent in 2010 this is
expected to grow to 69 per cent in 2050. - Mega-cities with a population of 10 million
people or more has grown from 2 in 1950 (New
York City and Tokyo) to 19 in 2007 (Lagos). - Cities and urban areas use about 75 per cent of
the worlds energy and are responsible for 75 per
cent of greenhouse gas emissions. - Analysis of weather, climate and water factors is
critical to supplying the input needs of cities,
managing their liveability and sustainability and
reducing the risks and costs of natural hazards.
25- Three-quarters of all large cities are located in
coastal regions (Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt). - Globally, 60 per cent of the worlds population
lives in Low Elevation Coastal Zones (less than
10 metres above sea level), which are potentially
vulnerable to sea level rise. - Extreme weather events and climate change
underscore the need to involve meteorological and
hydrological services in urban planning and
engineering, infrastructure development, beach
management and coastal defences to face future
challenges. - Hydrologists, climate scientists and weather
forecasters therefore need to work closely to
develop water management strategies for
mega-cities.
26- Health
- Climate change will affect health of millions of
people in a variety of ways. - More intense heat waves pose risks to the health
of children and the elderly - drought raises the potential for malnutrition
and cluster within a limited water supply that
may result in water borne diseases. - Drier condition encourages sand and dust storms
that affect the respiratory system. - Mosquitoes thrive in wetter, warmer conditions
and climate change may extend their limit of
impacts to higher latitudes where they and not
found currently.
27- Public health needs team approach that combines
the expertise of public health specialists with
that of economists, ecologists, hydrologists,
climate scientists and meteorologists. - Transportation
- Weather services play a critical role in
supporting the complex networks of shipping,
aviation and land transport in several ways - to aid safety and reduce risks, and to optimize
efficiency and reliability amid variable weather,
climatic and oceanic conditions. - The airline industry is the primary means for
long distance travel for business and leisure
travellers and it provides a rapid global
distribution system for high-value or perishable
goods. - Renewable energy production must deal with demand
changes and significant supply-side variability,
particularly shortages in rainfall for
hydroelectricity, lack of wind for wind farms and
cloudiness for solar energy installations.
28- Pilots, airline operations and air traffic
managers need information on wind speed and
direction, clouds, icing potential, locations of
thunderstorms, and weather conditions at
airports. - Commercial airlines also routinely use this
information to calculate optimum routes and
altitudes throughout a flight. - This brings many benefits, like avoiding dangers,
achieving a smoother flight, reducing fuel usage
and costs, and ensuring better adherence to
scheduled arrival times. - Renewable energy production must deal with demand
changes and significant supply-side variability,
particularly shortages in rainfall for
hydroelectricity, lack of wind for wind farms and
cloudiness for solar energy installations. - Whether for future planning, new plant design or
minute-by-minute operations, the use of
meteorological and hydrological information will
improve the outcomes and lower the risks. - Industrial processes need ample water and energy.
29- Energy
- Renewable energy production must deal with demand
changes and significant supply-side variability,
particularly shortages in rainfall for
hydroelectricity, lack of wind for wind farms and
cloudiness for solar energy installations. - Whether for future planning, new plant design or
minute-by-minute operations, the use of
meteorological and hydrological information will
improve the outcomes and lower the risks.
30Natural Disasters The Nigerian Example
Table 5 Top 10 most outstanding Natural
Disasters in Nigeria for the period of 1900 -2012
sorted by numbers of people affected
Disasters Date Total No Affected
Drought Jun-83 3,000,000
Flood 13-Sep-10 1,500,200
Flood 11-Sep-94 580,000
Flood Aug-88 300,000
Flood 5-Sep-03 210,000
Flood 10-Sep-09 150,000
Flood 10-Oct-98 100,000
Flood 15-Sep-99 90,000
Flood 27-Aug-01 84,065
Epidemic Oct-69 80,000
Total 6,094,265
31- Out of the10 most outstanding Natural Disasters
in Nigeria between 1900 -2012 - Drought affected 3,000,000 people
- Flood inundated areas that led to the evacuation
of 3,014,265 people - Epidemic affected 80,000 people
32Table 7 Top 10 Costliest Natural Disasters in
Nigeria between 1900 2012 sorted by economic
damage costs
Disasters Date Damage (000 US
Drought Jun-83 71,103
Flood 11-Sep-94 66,500
Flood 13-Sep-10 30,000
Flood 23-Sep-85 8,000
Flood 20-Sep-00 4,805
Flood 27-Aug-01 3,000
Flood 5-Sep-03 2,570
Flood 15-Aug-00 1,900
Flood 28-Aug-11 1,500
Flood 7-Aug-05 147
Total 189,525
33- Table 3 Financial Cost of Flooding in Benin City
(2008-2010)
S/N Location Area coverage (m2) No. of Buildings Cost No. of Plots Cost
1. Adolo College Road 54,000 2 76.3m (108.666) 3 9.30m (62,000)
2. Tomeline 143,261 6 47.8m (318,666) 16 124.4 (826,666)
3. Five Junction 95,761 - - - -
4. Siluko/Uwelu Road 391,240 12 414.4(2,763m) 32 153.6m (1.024m)
5 Dumez Road 121,500 14 438.2m (2,921m) 25 135.6m (904,000)
6. Ogiso Quarters 79,200 5 33.4m (222,666) 18 81.7m (544,666)
7 Uwasota Road 28,351 4 42.1m (280,660) 46.4m (309,333)
Total 913,313m 67 1.052b (7,015m) 102 551m (3.671m).
34Climate Services
35Climate Services contd.
- Efficient management of the climatic risks today
is the foundation for managing the changed
climatic risks of tomorrow and that requires
adequate preparedness. - The best way to prepare is through acquisition of
extremely effective climate services which will
be made available to users especially those in
most vulnerable areas. Coastal south and desert
prone North in Nigeria - But there is a wide gap between the needs for
climate services and their current provision,
especially in climate-vulnerable developing
countries. - A well articulated climate services will provide
relevant and timely information to every sector
ranging from government decision-makers to
businesses to farmers.
36- Potential users of climate services will include
the followings among others. - Land-use regulation and environmental protection
- Urban and industrial planning
- Structural design of weather-resistant buildings
- Infrastructural development for rising sea levels
and storms - Energy supply management
- Transportation and fuel efficiency
- Water supply planning and dam construction
- Land cultivation and livestock management
- Health system response to extreme heat and cold
- Water-borne disease control.
37- Lack or limited knowledge of climate services has
resulted in hundreds of thousands of lives being
lost, and millions devastated by extreme weather
events . - The greatest injustice on our watch is that those
who did the least to cause climate change are the
first and hardest hit. - We need to rectify this by bringing climate
information to the most vulnerable and enabling
them to act. - The Nigerian Meteorological Agency is trying in
this respect through daily weather forecast and
recently annual climatic predictions available
through print and electronic media
38National Meteorological and Hydrological Services
(NMHSs)
- Generate, gather and analyse data on weather,
climate and water - Convert such data to value-added information that
protects lives and livelihoods in the following
areas - Public safety. providing warnings of approaching
storms and other hazards for public authorities
to take action, e.g. closing transportation
systems or evacuating people for public safety. - Airports and seaports. Provides daily weather
forecasts to specialized predictions of oil slick
movements, dust storm and volcanic ash cloud
dispersal etc.
39- Heating and air conditioning design. Historical
temperature and humidity data are essential in
the design of heating and air conditioning
systems. Increasingly, wind and solar radiation
data is being used to design buildings that
require less heating and air conditioning. - Building codes. Wind speed data can be analysed
to estimate the strength of winds likely to be
encountered in different parts of settlement and
for different heights of buildings. Likewise,
snow depth data can be used to establish security
criteria in regions where buildings have to be
resistant to heavy snow packs.
40- Water supply. Historical data is the main basis
for designing public water supply systems, but
droughts can still occur and storage reservoirs
may fail to meet demand. Water system managers
use meteorological and hydrological information,
including seasonal climate forecasts to assess
risks and make key decisions. - Sustainability. Most initiatives on cleaner air
and water, renewable energy, public education and
public transportation require information on
weather, climate and water.
41Sustainable Future
42(No Transcript)
43Conclusion and Recommendations
- Human activities have increasingly impacted on
our weather, climate and water causing floods,
severe storms, heat waves, droughts etc. that
leads to loss of lives and damage to property. - Adequate climatic and water data are needed both
for adaptation and decision making. - National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services are at the fore of efforts to observe
and understand the complex inter-relationship
between weather, climate and water and their
environmental connectivity . - We rely on up-to-the minute, reliable weather
forecasts for everything ranging from social
activities to multi-million dollar decisions.
44- Reliable and timely weather, climate and water
information provided by NMHSs will be fundamental
for the sustainability of the present and future
well-being of our society and our planet. - So investment in NMHSs by the governments,
governmental agencies and parastatal,
Non-governmental Organizations and corporate
bodies among others is more necessary than ever,
so that NMHSs can meet these demands and have the
means and will power for powering our future
with weather, climate and water.
45