Powerful Storms Are Ravaging Billion-Dollar Defenses

Powerful storms are brewing over COP30. Hurricane Melissa is intensifying discussions of who should pay for climate change-fueled disasters and shining a light on the unsettling reality that defenses against extreme weather, especially in the Global South, are inadequate for the global warming era.

The Philippines is a case in point. Typhoon Kalmaegi left more than 200 dead last week and a second cyclone, Fung-Wong, hit it this week. But early warning systems helped limit the damage, with 1.4 million people preemptively evacuated.