World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) objective has been to reduce the…
2016
World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) objective has been to reduce the number of deaths due to hydrometeorological disasters over the decade 2010-2019 by (with reference to the decade 1994-2003)
- A.
25%
- B.
50%
- C.
75%
- D.
80%
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
International agencies often frame disaster-risk-reduction commitments as a percentage cut in a decade's average fatality rate, benchmarked against an earlier reference decade. The stated percentage directly fixes what fraction of the baseline death toll the target aims to remove.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), through its Disaster Risk Reduction Programme aligned with the UN's Hyogo Framework for Action, adopted the objective of cutting the 10-year average fatalities from hydrometeorological (weather-, climate- and water-related) disasters recorded over 2010-2019 by 50% relative to the 1994-2003 decade's average. In other words, WMO aimed to roughly halve the annual average death toll from floods, storms, droughts and similar hazards compared with that earlier baseline decade.
A 25% figure represents only a one-quarter cut in the baseline average — a smaller reduction than the objective WMO actually adopted.
A 75% figure represents a three-quarter cut in the baseline average — a steeper reduction than the objective WMO actually adopted.
An 80% figure represents a four-fifths cut in the baseline average — the steepest of the offered figures, beyond the objective WMO actually adopted.
So the correct figure is 50%.