Thread by @BjornLomborg

You're being lied to:

Report claims disasters 5x over past 50 years

But because of better reporting

How do we know?

Take well-measured US tornados:

WMO thinks they've 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟯𝘅
In reality, 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱
library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?ex…
bbc.com/news/science-e…

Incompetent WMO report tells you that disasters 5x over past 50 years

But because of better reporting

How do we know?

Take well-measured US hurricanes:

WMO thinks they've 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝟰𝘅
They haven't increased at all

library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?ex…
bbc.com/news/science-e…

You're being lied to:

Report claims disasters 5x over past 50 years

But because of better reporting

How do we know?

Take well-measured US tornados:

WMO thinks they've 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟯𝘅
In reality, 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱
library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?ex…
bbc.com/news/science-e…

Using EMDAT data to falsely suggest that catastrophes are increasing is simply dishonest

Increase is from better reporting, data does *not* support claims that # catastrophes are increasing

This lie has been exposed *so* many times

When will media stop misrepresenting better reporting as worse climate outcomes?

@MattMcGrathBBC — looking at you — will you update your story to highlight that this is simply better reporting?

bbc.com/news/science-e…

Maybe instead, the media could find some time to point out that societal vulnerability to climate-related disasters has *dramatically* dropped over the past century:

deaths dropped by more than 96-98% (while global population quadrupled)

facebook.com/bjornlomborg/p…

Here is my long twitter-thread from last year, when another UN organization disgracefully made the same bad report

Here are all the main categories from the disaster database — *all* increase dramatically

If you with this data wrongly want to claim climate change makes more weather disasters

you also have to wrongly argue climate makes more derailings and volcanos

public.emdat.be