the Western United States, burning approximately 1860 km
2 of forest, and there
were also 85 deaths from the November incident. It was reported that the forest fires
were the worst in the state and the number of fatalities since 1933. In January
23, 2017, the worst forest fire in history occurred in Chile, South America, lasting
approximately two weeks. The town of Santa Olga, with a population of 4000, was
completely destroyed, and 77 places covering 300,000 ha were destroyed. The
burned area spanned 4000 km
2 , with 11 deaths and 300 injuries. A substantial
historical forest fire had also broken out in the neighboring Argentina, from
mid-January. From July 2019 to February 2020, there were intermittent large-scale
forest fires in various parts of Australia. Australia’s long-lasting forest fires have
been the worst recorded, killing more than 28 people and over 500 million animals
and plants. More than 170,000 km
2 of land had been burnt.
Heavy rain and typhoons: China experienced widespread damage from 2015 to
2019 due to typhoons and heavy rains in the summer. Above all, heavy rains impact
southern China each year, typically causing hundreds of deaths each year. In Japan,
the heavy rains due to the rainy season and typhoons also occurred in July 2018
(typhoon No.7 and seasonal rain front), at Kyushu in 2019 (typhoon Nos. 15 and 19),
and in July 2020 (storm rain front). From October 24 to 26, 2019, 99 people were
killed in various parts of Japan (based on data from January 10, 2020), and the
typhoon destroyed approximately 3200 houses. Other regions of Asia (such as India
and Thailand) have also reported on damage caused by heavy rain. Outside the Asian
region, massive rain damage occurred in 2017 from southwestern Colombia to Peru,
in 2018 to parts of Nigeria, and in 2019 in an area spanning northern to western
Africa.
Floods: Rivers inundated due to heavy rains result in the incidence of flood
events. The heavy rain leads to floods that impacted southern Africa in January
2015, causing hundreds of deaths. From late June to early July 2018, heavy rain led
to the death of 237 people mainly in Okayama, Hiroshima, and Ehime prefectures in
Japan (data as of January 9, 2019) and destroyed approximately 7000 homes. From
December 1 to 31, 2019, a massive flood caused by heavy rain occurred in the
Jakarta metropolitan area of Indonesia. A total of 103 residential areas were flooded
nationwide, and 9 people were killed.
1.3.2 Seawater Temperature/Sea Level Rise
Global warming is predicted to bring about an increase in seawater temperatures and
sea level rise; the warming seawater creates a thermal expansion causing sea levels to
rise. Sea level rise is also due to the decrease in ice sheets in Greenland and
Antarctica. Greenland loses an average of 200 Gt of ice annually, and Antarctica
loses an annual average of 118 Gt, according to a recent study published by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Washington University in
Science magazine. It is feared that this has led to a sea level rise of more than
16
W. Zhou
2 of forest, and there
were also 85 deaths from the November incident. It was reported that the forest fires
were the worst in the state and the number of fatalities since 1933. In January
23, 2017, the worst forest fire in history occurred in Chile, South America, lasting
approximately two weeks. The town of Santa Olga, with a population of 4000, was
completely destroyed, and 77 places covering 300,000 ha were destroyed. The
burned area spanned 4000 km
2 , with 11 deaths and 300 injuries. A substantial
historical forest fire had also broken out in the neighboring Argentina, from
mid-January. From July 2019 to February 2020, there were intermittent large-scale
forest fires in various parts of Australia. Australia’s long-lasting forest fires have
been the worst recorded, killing more than 28 people and over 500 million animals
and plants. More than 170,000 km
2 of land had been burnt.
Heavy rain and typhoons: China experienced widespread damage from 2015 to
2019 due to typhoons and heavy rains in the summer. Above all, heavy rains impact
southern China each year, typically causing hundreds of deaths each year. In Japan,
the heavy rains due to the rainy season and typhoons also occurred in July 2018
(typhoon No.7 and seasonal rain front), at Kyushu in 2019 (typhoon Nos. 15 and 19),
and in July 2020 (storm rain front). From October 24 to 26, 2019, 99 people were
killed in various parts of Japan (based on data from January 10, 2020), and the
typhoon destroyed approximately 3200 houses. Other regions of Asia (such as India
and Thailand) have also reported on damage caused by heavy rain. Outside the Asian
region, massive rain damage occurred in 2017 from southwestern Colombia to Peru,
in 2018 to parts of Nigeria, and in 2019 in an area spanning northern to western
Africa.
Floods: Rivers inundated due to heavy rains result in the incidence of flood
events. The heavy rain leads to floods that impacted southern Africa in January
2015, causing hundreds of deaths. From late June to early July 2018, heavy rain led
to the death of 237 people mainly in Okayama, Hiroshima, and Ehime prefectures in
Japan (data as of January 9, 2019) and destroyed approximately 7000 homes. From
December 1 to 31, 2019, a massive flood caused by heavy rain occurred in the
Jakarta metropolitan area of Indonesia. A total of 103 residential areas were flooded
nationwide, and 9 people were killed.
1.3.2 Seawater Temperature/Sea Level Rise
Global warming is predicted to bring about an increase in seawater temperatures and
sea level rise; the warming seawater creates a thermal expansion causing sea levels to
rise. Sea level rise is also due to the decrease in ice sheets in Greenland and
Antarctica. Greenland loses an average of 200 Gt of ice annually, and Antarctica
loses an annual average of 118 Gt, according to a recent study published by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Washington University in
Science magazine. It is feared that this has led to a sea level rise of more than
16
W. Zhou