Overview
This issue brief examines the impact of heavy snow damage amid climate change and underscores the urgency of updating statistical standards to reflect modern realities.
Executive Summary
- Heavy snowfall damage primarily affects greenhouses and barns, which are structurally vulnerable to snow. These facilities often suffer more damage from heavy snowfall than from typhoons or heavy rains.
- Indirect damage, such as traffic congestion, flight and ferry cancellations, and power outages, is not currently included in disaster statistics. This omission risks underestimating the true impact of heavy snowfall.
- Recent climate change has led to rising winter temperatures in Korea, increasing winter precipitation. While this may result in more heavy snowfall events, precipitation may also shift from snow to rain, potentially causing heavy rainfall instead.
- Current disaster statistics fail to account for combined damages from atypical winter disasters, such as torrential rains and abnormally high temperatures.
- Estimating the overall damage caused by climate change is crucial for designing a sustainable future. New and systematic statistical standards are needed to capture both indirect damages from typical disasters and atypical damages.
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