According to the World Bank, 100 million people will be pushed below the poverty line by the year 2030 as a result of the long-term shift in temperature and weather patterns. Particularly, developing countries are suffering more from the devastating consequences of climate change due to their geography, slow economic development, and decrease in their freshwater resources. Moreover, the majority of the developing countries are located in the war place of the earth but also most of the people of developing countries are living near the coastal areas.
The average annual temperature of developing countries is 26 degrees Celsius and for developed countries, it is 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, rising temperatures impact differently on developing countries differently than developed countries due to certain vulnerabilities of developing countries. These vulnerable areas are facing severe consequences of global warming such as the melting of ice caps and oceanic expansion which led to the increase in sea level leading to flood and storm surges. With the increased risk of flood, there is always a threat for the whole city situated on coastal lines to be engulfed damaging infrastructure such as businesses, homes, etc. According to another report by the World Bank, in South Asia 35% of the rural coastal population is located in the low-elevation coastal zone,33 % of East Asia in the Pacific, and 28% in the Middle East in North Africa
Furthermore, Countries possessing fewer resources are bearing a higher risk in terms of loss of life, worse health conditions, and effects on the economy. Developing countries contribute a total of 3% of the carbon emissions of the world but face larger consequences of global warming in the form of flooding and damage to biodiversity. Also, being the struggling economies, it is quite difficult for them to restore the caused damage and manage the resources to switch from carbonized energy to sustainable energy. Comparatively, the higher income countries have different resources and advanced technology to not only restore the damage but also invest in renewable energy
Another pertinent point is that most of the developing countries are agrarian countries; therefore, their economies are based on agriculture. As a result of climate change and the increase in sea level, high temperatures affect agricultural production negatively threatening biodiversity. Furthermore, Climate Change also causes food and fresh water insecurity in 3rd world countries because their primary source of food is agriculture which is being devastated and damaged resulting in high cost and lack of food for 300 million poor people. The situation for this large number of poor people becomes even worse when they are ill and unable to afford high-cost food and medicines.
Notably, the most severe impact of climate change is the large number of diseases and the limited access to health services when in need. One of the common diseases caused due to global warming is Malaria, which affects the health of more than 150 million people. Moreover, the unavailability of fresh water causes diarrhea resulting in many deaths of children. The worst part is the people of these countries don’t even have access to first aid.
From the Stanford study referenced earlier concluded that lower per capita GDP is generally associated with more negative impacts. Developing countries are producing less and less and their economy is decreasing day by day; on the other hand, the rich countries have depleted the planet of natural resources and excessively burnt fossil fuels, which we all know, is a major factor in the cause of climate change. Climate change is negatively affecting the economies of developing countries and overburdening them by impacting their primary food sources such as agriculture and fishing. By 2030, developing nations will need 75 billion dollars annually to protect against the dire consequences of climate change according to the report. Considering the report, developing countries must prioritize mitigating the impact of climate change. On the flip side, the developed world will have to transfer funds, be it public or private funds, to the developing world. Above all, Both the developing and developed countries have to work collaboratively; however, if they don’t collaborate, the cost will be doubled and will preclude the possibility of keeping temperature below dangerous levels.
In conclusion, developing countries are more affected by climate change and global warming even though they are participating less in carbon emissions than developed countries. They have already a low economy which was also affected by climate change. Most of the developing countries have economies based on agriculture and fishing they export it and use it as a cash crop as well as food crop which is also affected by climate change, flooding, high temperatures, and global warming, they also don’t have advance technology to deal with these entities. The developing countries are more affected than developed countries.
The writer is a student of political science at International Islamic University and a member of PYDIR.