A World Bank report says natural disasters cost Nigeria and other low- and middle-income countries $390 billion annually in lost revenue due to power, telecommunication, transportation, and water disruptions.

This was disclosed in an article by Jennifer Sara, the global director for the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Global Practice, titled ‘Making every drop count: From water to climate’.

It bemoaned how the water cycle was being disrupted by climate change, leading to droughts and floods that were more frequent and severe.

“Coming for the water sector, I have seen how climate change wreaks havoc on the water cycle, with climate impacts expressed through increased frequency and severity of droughts and floods. Every $1 spent on resilient infrastructure yields $4 in cost savings,” the article stated.

It added, “Low- and middle-income countries lose an estimated $390 billion each year to disruptions of power, transportation, water, and telecommunications services caused by natural disasters.” 

The report further noted that improving the resilience of “those networks would cost about three per cent of the total capital investment, but the avoided disruptions would save four times that amount – an estimated $4.2 trillion over the useful life of new infrastructure.”

Ms Sara also stated that natural disasters caused 26 million people to fall into poverty each year and that by the end of this decade, approximately 132 million people will have fallen into extreme poverty due to climate change.

The article suggested that reducing poverty would reduce the climate change crisis.