Interconnected Disaster Risks is a new science-based report for the general public from United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security. It was first published in 2021, and is set to become an annual report.

The idea for the report was developed based on the recognition that disasters are occurring at an ever faster rate and, despite progress being made in how we prepare and respond to them, we are continuously being caught-out by new extremes and new emerging threats. Because so many disasters happen around the world, they typically only receive attention from the media and the general public right as they occur; shortly thereafter, attention shifts to the next disaster. This means that we rarely take the time to look at disasters in context and ask questions such as, why did this happen, what are the processes that allowed for this to occur in the first place, and what will be consequences in the months or years to come?

The 2021 report analyses 10 interconnected disasters that took place in 2020/2021. They were selected for their notoriety and representation of larger global issues, which have changed or will change our lives across the world.

The year 2020 brought this interconnectivity into sharp focus with the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the risks increasing connectedness with our environment and fellow humans can have if left unchecked. While this pandemic has united the world in struggle as never before, it has also overshadowed the numerous record-setting disastrous events worldwide: from record-high temperatures on land and sea, to extreme cold waves, insect plagues, species extinctions and wildfires, and explosions in urban areas.

Although we are coming to think of disaster risks as being interconnected, the disastrous events themselves are still largely reported and perceived as being isolated incidents. To build more resilient communities and sustainable futures,
we need to better understand how global disasters are connected and why they happened in the first place.

As our emissions of GHGs continue to grow, rising global temperatures are creating positive feedback loops. For
example, an increase in temperatures exacerbates drought conditions that intensify wildfire spread in the Amazon (see
Technical Report, Amazon Wildfires). The subsequent loss of forest cover decreases the amount of water evaporating
from the land entering the atmosphere (evapotranspiration), decreasing rainfall, lowering humidity and increasing ground surface temperatures. Smoke from the fires also reduces rainfall and cloud cover by trapping moisture and preventing raindrops from forming. These factors only exacerbate drought stress, creating a cycle that intensifies over time (Laurance and Williamson, 2001).