Asia and the Pacific will face more intense typhoons and tropical cyclones, with rising global mean temperatures as climate change impacts become more pronounced, a recent report warns.
The report titled "A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific" forecasts that annual precipitation will increase by up to 50% over most land areas under a business-as-usual scenario, with massive floods affecting livelihoods, ruining crops and derailing economic growth.
However, some countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan may experience a decline in rainfall by 20-50%, compounding drought and depleting already scarce water resources.
Coastal and low-lying areas will be at an increased risk of flooding. Nineteen of the 25 cities most exposed to a one-metre sea-level rise are located in the region, and seven are in the Philippines.
Indonesia will be the country hardest hit by coastal flooding with 5.9 million people expected to be affected every year until 2100.
Global flood losses are expected to rise to US$52 billion per year by 2050 from $6 billion in 2005. Thirteen of the top 20 cities with the highest expected growth in annual flood losses from 2005-50 are in Asia and the Pacific: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Zhanjiang and Xiamen in China; Mumbai, Chennai-Madras, Surat and Kolkata (India); Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Bangkok and Nagoya.
Climate change will also affect food production, reduce supplies, push up prices and cause food shortage crises in some countries, potentially undermining social and political stability. In parts of Southeast Asia, rice yields could decline by up to 50% by 2100 if no adaptation takes place.
Food shortages could increase the number of malnourished children by 7 million in South Asia, where import costs could rise from $2 billion a year to $15 billion by 2050.
The report also warns that all coral reef systems in the Western Pacific, critical to marine ecology and the fishery, will collapse by 2100 from mass coral bleaching if temperatures rise by 4C. Even with a 1.5C increase, 89% of reefs would suffer from serious bleaching, severely affecting fisheries and tourism in Southeast Asia.
Climate change is also a severe public health threat. Already, 3.3 million people die every year from the harmful effects of outdoor air pollution, led by China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Heat-related deaths in the region among the elderly are expected to increase by about 52,000 by 2050 due to climate change, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Deaths related to vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue may also increase.