The Characteristics and Types of Global Catastrophe Risk

A catastrophic event is a great danger that has some characteristics and types. It can be a global catastrophe risk that can cause devastating impacts, and the aftermath takes many years to recover, or probably never will. To understand this risk better, read more in this summary below.

The Characteristics of Global Catastrophe Risk

Impact and Probability

A disaster or threat with low probability usually has a greater risk. It is because the event does not occur often. However, the impact itself could spread widely and harm civilization and ecosystems. Sometimes, the impact is too far to prepare for before it occurs. Mass casualties are not easy to minimize.

Scale of Risk

The scale of global catastrophe risk is the largest. It may spread around the world, as the COVID-19 pandemic is an example. The cause is that modern people are interconnected. The speed is widespread across the globe. Another example is nuclear war, which can harm the global environment.

Irreversible

The irreversibility of catastrophic risk is so great that it may lead to irreversible changes in many aspects. For example, a nuclear war can harm many people at one time, and the effects after that may be harmful for many centuries. Some species could disappear forever, which would disrupt the ecosystems.

Complex and Uncertain

Another characteristic of global catastrophe risk is uncertain and complex. The modeling is difficult to predict, so the effect is unforeseen until it occurs. The consequences of unpredictable threats are mass casualties and total collapse. This leads to underestimation, which can cause greater risk in the aftermath.

The government may also find it difficult to estimate the aftermath. It is confusing to make the best plans to minimize the risk caused by catastrophic phenomena. Thus, the more complex the systems, the harder it is to make predictions and estimates. Preventing the risk from happening is very hard to do.

Long-term Aftermath

The worst characteristic that is very hard to avoid is the long-term aftermath. The nuclear effect is not something that could disappear in years because it may take centuries. People may not be able to live normally because they can experience some great changes in their lives.

The Types of Global Catastrophic Risks

Climate Change

In the long term, climate change makes more differences and it is not only raising temperatures on the Earth. The sea level can rise, and people who live at the coast become vulnerable communities. Extreme weather because of climate change is the real threat of global catastrophe risk.

Nuclear War

Nuclear war can bring endless suffering to lives and ecosystems. People will die instantly because of this. The aftermath is that people will also suffer from famine because the land cannot be used for agricultural activities. Collapsing ecosystems are dangerous because an imbalance creates instability.

Pandemic

The world experienced great pandemics in 1918 and 2020. These incidents lead to changes all over the world. Vaccines were present to prevent harmful effects and lethal diseases. The pandemic killed many people because of global travel and low-level healthcare systems in many regions.

AI Risk

Artificial intelligence is a new trend that people believe can make life easier. However, the servers of AI companies cause bad effects on the environment by taking clean water to freeze and balance the heat of their clouds. Thus, AI may cause instability for many aspects, such as infrastructure and markets.

Volcanic Eruption

A massive eruption can change the conditions around the volcano and the entire world, like what happened to Toba and Karakatoa in Indonesia. Lake Toba was formed because of a massive eruption. Meanwhile, the Krakatoa eruption caused the world to have cloudy months and a massive tsunami in West Java.

Asteroid Impact

Asteroids that reach the Earth will have a great aftermath, where the sudden change of climate can occur. The bigger the asteroid, the greater the possibility for storms, tsunamis, and climate disruption. Since the ash can cover the whole earth, a sudden winter occurs. Animals, plants, and humans may be extinct.

The global catastrophe risk can be minimized with an integrated early warning system that includes an SMS broadcaster. This device can send warning messages to different users at the same time, so they can act accordingly to avoid the threats. Find out more about how this device works for EWS and purchase it here.