https://lisasquinley.github.io/Thesis/
Created during MS2 of Spring 2025.
Title to come - (World Overview).
What patterns are there globally regarding the occurrence of disasters? What trends can we see as we review these incidents over time?
EM-DAT dataset "on the occurrence and impacts of over 26,000 mass disasters worldwide from 1900 to the present day."
There are about 10300 data points in this dataset and the "database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, reinsurance companies, research institutes, and press agencies." (https://www.emdat.be/)
World map with color coding and possibly iconography.
Title to come - (African Continent)
What patterns are there amongst the countries in the African continent with regards to incomes and their levels of vulnerability and lack of coping capacity?
INFORM Risk Index dataset. "INFORM is a multi-stakeholder forum for developing shared, quantitative analysis relevant to humanitarian crises and disasters. INFORM includes organisations from across the multilateral system, including the humanitarian and development sector, donors, and technical partners. The Joint Research Center of European Commission is the scientific lead for INFORM." (https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index)
There are scores for 190 countries in a number of categories, the ones I will be visualizing will be Vulnerability, Lack of Coping Capacity, and the Inform Risk Index.
Continent map with color coding, possibly a bar chart.
Title to come - (Morocco)
How does Morocco differ from other countries with regards to disasters?
Both the EM-DAT dataset and the INFORM Risk Index dataset.
The focus will be on all disaster occurrences over time and all categories regarding the Inform Risk Index for Morocco.
Country map, timeline, other possibilities not yet decided or sketched.
News reports have been filled in recent years with examples of extreme weather events: Hurricane Helene flooded parts of the southeast United States leading to at least 219 deaths and an economic impact of $78 billion. An extreme heatwave in Saudi Arabia during the Haj pilgrimage season saw temperatures of at least 43C every day from 1-22 June and 1,301 deaths, most attributed to the heat. A prolonged drought in southern Africa led to total grain production drop of 50% in Zambia. Typhoon Yagi struck China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar with over 700 deaths reported and extensive flooding and wind damage. Climate scientists are realizing that these extreme weather events are a natural consequence of the overall global warming due to increased emissions of greenhouse gases.
Morocco is in its sixth year of a drought that is damaging its agricultural sector and overall economy. In addition to the drought, Morocco has had extreme heat waves and local torrential rains with flooding. The country has a Mediterranean climate in the north and becomes increasingly arid in the south. Weather in Morocco has always been highly variable with good years and bad years depending on precipitation. However, this multi-year drought appears to be tightly linked with and is predicted by the effects of global warming. The most vulnerable groups are the roughly one third of the population living in rural areas who are small-scale farmers and herdsmen, as well as traditional oasis-dwellers and nomads. Morocco has been engaged in a variety of coping mechanisms for the drought, including dams to store water, using well water, traditional water management systems like khettaras, and desalination. On the water use side, Morocco has been promoting drip irrigation, re-use of treated wastewater, and restriction of water use in urban areas to conserve water resources. Unfortunately, climate models predict that depending on continued greenhouse gas emissions, the situation will continue to worsen over the coming decades. Within the country, youth need to understand the situation and what can be done at the individual, community, and national level. However, the drivers of climate change are not controlled by any one country and people need to understand the global sources and the role of all countries in preventing and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The purpose of this project is to create visuals–such as infographics and diagrams–that can be used to illustrate the situation and coping mechanisms for Morocco. These products will be designed to appeal to an American audience, however, if I end up volunteering in Morocco, I will need to revisit and redesign them with people who understand the local culture.
For human-related climate change, there is a wide variety of analyses already available from international organizations. There are several sources regarding fossil fuel use, atmospheric greenhouse gases, and climate change. Based on the literature review, these include UN agencies, US government agencies and academic and NGO data repositories. An example of a relevant data file I have found is from the Climate Change Dashboard of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Groups such as the World Weather Attribution attempt to determine whether specific extreme weather events are likely to have been caused by or are related to climate change. Information about the impact on Morocco and coping mechanisms are found in organizations such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the United States Department of Agriculture. Specific actions are often reported in local and international newspapers.
Six years of drought has damaged both Morocco’s agricultural output as well as its economy. The worsening drought and extreme weather events in Morocco are clearly due to climate change which is caused by increasing greenhouse gases. Morocco is used as an example of the kinds of challenges that a country and its people can face due to global warming. It is also clear that the coming decades will become even more difficult for societies to manage. Morocco has already adopted a variety of coping strategies, but there is more that needs to be done at the individual, community, and national levels to mitigate both the current situation and for the future. This thesis illustrates the story of the situation in Morocco as well as the kinds of actions needed. While the types of problems that arise varies greatly between countries, the story of Morocco is an example of the need for adaptation and mitigation that all countries around the world will need to face. I am particularly interested in Morocco due to the conditional acceptance I received to be a Climate-Smart Youth Development Facilitator as a Peace Corps Volunteer starting later this year. My role would include fostering climate-aware youth leaders.
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