ITU's Deputy Secretary-General highlights significant surge in frequency of natural disasters over past five decades

The frequency of natural disasters has increased many times over the past 50 years, Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Tomas Lamanauskas said during the XI Global Baku Forum, Azernews reports.

He emphasized the escalating occurrence of natural calamities, noting that presently, there is an average of one medium-sized or large-scale natural disaster daily, a figure projected to increase to 1.5 per day by 2030.

Lamanauskas underscored the vulnerability of digital resilience, referring to the digital infrastructure connecting global networks. He cited a recent incident on March 14, where a major cable along the West African coast was damaged, resulting in substantial internet disruptions in several West African nations. Nearly 99 percent of global traffic traverses through these networks.

The XI Global Baku Forum, hosting representatives from numerous countries and esteemed international organizations, including over 350 guests from more than 70 countries, aims to engage in comprehensive discussions on various global issues. These discussions encompass the outcomes of COP28, preparations for COP29, emerging threats to the global order, security concerns, peace-building efforts amidst a fragmented world, and solutions to challenges confronting humanity.

Additionally, topics include conflicts, mega-threats like climate change, food security, and nuclear proliferation, as well as discussions on military and economic alliances, regional dynamics, youth policies, resilience-building strategies, inequality, resource scarcity, migration, artificial intelligence, and novel security paradigms in the era of drones and cyberwarfare.