Natural catastrophes, extreme weather are top risks to New Zealand's security

  • 13/02/2018
Are You Ready sign against a stormy background with lightning and copy space. Dirty and angled sign adds to the drama.
Photo credit: Getty

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has declared natural catastrophes and extreme weather events to be the top threats New Zealand faces.

The latest Global Risk Report produced by the WEF also placed water crises and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation high on the list of possible risks.

The risks identified in the report are:

  1. Natural catastrophes
  2. Extreme weather events
  3. Cyber attacks
  4. Asset bubble
  5. Failure of urban planning
  6. Failure of critical infrastructure
  7. Water crises
  8. Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation
  9. Failure of financial mechanism or institution, terrorist attack, data theft or fraud

The WEF also had a stark warning in the report as environmental concerns have grown in prominence over recent years.

"All five risks in the survey's environmental category rank higher than average for both likelihood and impact over a 10-year horizon," it said.

"This follows a year characterised by high-impact hurricanes, extreme temperatures and the first rise in CO2 emissions for four years.

 "We have been pushing our planet to the brink and the damage is becoming increasingly clear."

Newshub.