Even though extreme weather has cost the economy trillions of dollars in last 50 years, the number of fatalities has drastically decreased.
But improved early warning systems and catastrophe management result in fewer fatalities in developing nations.
Between 2019 and 2021, they resulted in 22,608 deaths, a decrease from previous years.
According to the WMO, since 1970, two million people have perished as a result of extreme weather-related incidents.
According to the latest data from the UN’s climate and weather office, the cost of damage from these catastrophes has climbed by a factor of eight since the 1970s and currently totals $4.3 trillion (£3.5 trillion).
There is no connection between lower death tolls and decreased frequency or severity of such incidents. According to the WMO, the number of weather-related disasters has multiplied five times in that time.
The WMO claims that the populations most at risk from such catastrophes reside in developing nations that have experienced progress in measures to preserve human life.
By the end of 2027, it wants everyone on the earth to have access to high-quality early warnings of coming disasters, and it hopes to hasten the development of these systems during the World Meteorological Conference, which gets underway today in Geneva.
Of the two million deaths those catastrophes resulted in, nine out of ten occurred in developing nations.
The WMO Secretary-General, Prof. Petteri Taalas, stated, “The most vulnerable communities regrettably bear the brunt of the weather, climate, and water-related hazards.”
He cited Cyclone Mocha, a tropical storm that affected Bangladesh and parts of Myanmar last week. Some of the poorest areas were impacted by the widespread destruction it wreaked.
Although at least 800,000 people reportedly need emergency food aid and other assistance, the death toll is now thought to be less than 200.
According to Mr Taalas, in the past, such a storm would have resulted in tens of thousands or possibly hundreds of thousands of fatalities.
“These catastrophic mortality rates are thankfully no longer a reality, thanks to early warnings and disaster management,” he said. Early warnings save lives.
The developed world, led by United States, suffered the most financial losses. According to estimates, weather- and climate-related catastrophes have cost $1.7 trillion (£1.37 trillion), or 39% of the total world cost during the previous 51 years.
The WMO noted that the least developed nations and small island governments, relative to the size of their economies, incurred substantially higher expenses.
With 520,758 fatalities, Bangladesh experienced the highest death toll in Asia since 1970, caused by 281 catastrophes.
One hundred sixty-six thousand four hundred ninety-two individuals died in 1,784 European disasters, making up 8% of all deaths reported globally.
Floods were the leading cause of recorded economic losses, and extreme temperatures were the leading cause of reported fatalities.
 states that since 1970, the financial toll of floods, storms, wildfires has increased.){kind=link}