Climate Crisis Escalates into Humanitarian Emergency
(MENAFN) In anticipation of this week’s launch of the UN COP30 climate change summit, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) cautioned on Tuesday that the climate emergency is increasingly transforming into a humanitarian disaster, requiring immediate worldwide intervention.
"The climate crisis is also a humanitarian crisis," stated Ninni Ikkala Nyman, IFRC’s climate change lead, during a press briefing in Geneva.
She emphasized that Red Cross and Red Crescent teams are confronting "more frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves and storms," which jeopardize lives, livelihoods, health, as well as food and water security.
Nyman pointed to last month’s catastrophic Hurricane Melissa as a clear example of the intensifying climate extremes.
She noted that preparedness and timely interventions provided "valuable time to build shelters, evacuate people out of harm’s way, preposition aid and help to prepare communities" for the unprecedented category 5 hurricane.
The IFRC has issued emergency appeals for Cuba and Jamaica, both severely affected by Melissa, and called for additional support as recovery operations commence.
Melissa’s "violent and rapid intensification needs to be a wake-up call," Nyman warned, highlighting that climate change is causing storms to become more intense and less predictable.
Beyond the Caribbean, Nyman referenced humanitarian efforts in response to Pakistan’s catastrophic monsoon floods, climate-driven droughts in Somalia, and devastating wildfires across Europe, including in Türkiye.
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