Wealthy nations are hit by extreme weather due to climate crisis

This summer has seen a staggering number of extreme weather events globally that is affecting the world's wealthiest nations, where many countries were spared in the past.

Wildfires and extreme heat waves have baked the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. and Canada, while major flooding has hit countries like China, Germany, and Belgium.

Wildfires have also burned through much of southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, wreaking havoc in Italy, Turkey, and Greece.

Flooding in Europe killed at least 165 people, mostly in Germany, but hundreds of missing people were reported to authorities in the country, as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In mid-July, the U.K.’s Met Office issued its first 'Extreme Heat Warning,’ during a sustained heat wave affecting the country.

The Henan Province in China was overwhelmed by major flooding, killing at least 300 people, and causing an economic loss of 110 billion yuan or nearly $17 billion.

In the wake of the United Nation’s climate change report, officials have urged leaders to make real efforts to confront the crisis, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling on developed countries to provide money for poor nations to fight climate change.

The European Commission proposed a law banning the sale of gas and diesel cars by 2035, require most industries to pay for the emissions they produce, and impose a tax on imports from countries with less stringent climate policies, to fight the crisis.

The developed world is already facing criticism for the failure to follow through in the pledge to provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to help finance climate change in poor countries.

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