President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Dialogue Group in Baku on March 2.
It should be noted that the initiative on the need to strengthen the activities of the participants of the Non-Aligned Movement on the basis of the global platform for reducing the risk of natural disasters until 2030 – Sendai Framework, which the head of state emphasized in his speech, is very important.
This issue is paid special attention at the presidential level. Because at present, the danger of emergency and natural disaster, and the increase in the scale of economic damage caused by such negative situations is characteristic not only of Uzbekistan, but also of the entire Central Asian region.
The high risk is primarily due to the fact that the rate of average temperature increase in Central Asia will exceed the global index. Since 1900, the average temperature on Earth has increased by 1.1°C, and the average annual temperature in our region has increased by 1.6°C, or from 13.2°C to 14.8°C. At the same time, according to estimates, by 2050 the air temperature may increase by 1.5°-3°С.
The climate change caused by the collapse of the Aral Sea is twice as strong as the world average, and has led to a reduction of the ice area in the region by about 30% over the last 50-60 years. By 2050, the glacier level is expected to decrease by 45-60%. This causes an increase in the spring flow and a drastic decrease in the summer flow.
In the future, these conditions can lead to frequent occurrence of extreme weather events – mountain lake overflows, floods, landslides, as well as droughts, forest fires, and dust-salt storms during the summer growing season.
At the same time, annual losses from natural disasters in the Central Asian region reached $10 billion, limiting economic growth by 1-2%.
If measures against climate change are not taken, the countries of Central Asia will face water shortages, droughts, floods, and sandstorms will increase. As a result, agricultural production becomes unstable, and food security is threatened.
In such a situation, proposals put forward by the head of Uzbekistan to strengthen activities based on the global platform of the Sendai Framework are very important. Solving the issue of disaster risk reduction in the rapidly changing climate should be comprehensive, taking into account future threats and risks, development of new methods of monitoring.
