Climate change is having serious impacts in the Philippines such as increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, sea level rise, extreme rainfall, resource shortages, and environmental degradation. All of these impacts together have greatly affected the Philippines' agriculture, water, infrastructure, human health, and coastal ecosystems and they are projected to continue having devastating damages to the economy and society of the Philippines.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. The archipelago is situated along the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, leaving the country vulnerable to around 20 typhoons each year, a quarter of which are destructive. The December 2021 typhoon known colloquially as Typhoon Odette caused almost one billion US$ (₱47.6 billion) in infrastructure, housing, and agricultural damages and displaced 114,943 people. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported in 2022 that Typhoon Odette affected the lives of 9.9 million people. More tragically, the physical and economic repercussions of Typhoon Odette led to the death of 407 people as of December 2022.
In addition to the Philippines' close proximity to the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, the Philippines is also located within the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which makes the country prone to recurrent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Compounding these issues, the impacts of climate change, such as accelerated sea level rise, exacerbate the state's high susceptibility to natural disasters, like flooding and landslides. Aside from geography, climate change impacts regions with a history of colonization more intensely than regions without a history of colonization. Colonized regions experience the repercussions of climate change most jarringly "because of their high dependence on natural resources, their geographical and climatic conditions and their limited capacity to effectively adapt to a changing climate." Since low-income countries have a history of colonialism and resource exploitation, their environment lacks the diversity necessary to prevail against natural disasters. A lack of biodiversity reduces the resilience of a specific region, leaving them more susceptible to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. With its history of Spanish colonization, the Philippines is not environmentally nor economically equipped to overcome issues it is currently dealing with, such as natural disasters and climate change. This inability to recover exacerbates the problem, creating a cycle of environmental and economic devastation in the country.
The Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, leading to increased flooding and displacement. Extreme weather events, such as typhoons, are becoming more frequent and intense, causing widespread destruction and economic losses. Changes in rainfall patterns disrupt agricultural cycles, impacting food security and livelihoods. The country's rich biodiversity is also at risk, as changing temperatures and ocean acidification affect ecosystems and marine life. Addressing climate change in the Philippines requires a multifaceted approach, including mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation strategies to build resilience, and international cooperation to support vulnerable nations.
Greenhouse gas emissions Philippines share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is 0.48%. Nevertheless, the country is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. GHG emissions in the Philippines are rising. Over 41% of the country's GHG emissions come from the burning of coal and fuel oil for electricity generation, with many coal plants being technically unable to ramp down. Land, water, and air transport accounts for 35% of GHG emissions. +Carbon dioxide emissions from energy, 2011-2021 (MtCO₂)2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202180.783.191.997.3106.2116.4128.9133.7140.7127.2136.8 The Philippines, a signatory of the Paris climate accord, aims to cut its emissions by 75% by 2030. In 2021 youth climate activists protested Standard Chartered's financing of coal companies. Legislation to create an emissions trading system is being considered.
Impacts on the natural environment
Climate history
Due to its geographical location, climate, and topography, the Philippines is ranked third on the World Risk Index for highest disaster risk and exposure to natural disasters. 16 of its provinces, including Manila, Benguet, and Batanes, are included in the top 50 most vulnerable places in Southeast Asia, with Manila being ranked 7th. Four cities in the Philippines—Manila, San Jose, Roxas, and Cotabato—are included in the top 10 cities most vulnerable to sea level rise in the East Asia and Pacific region. The country is consistently at risk from severe natural hazards including typhoons, floods, landslides, and drought. It is located within a region that experiences the highest rate of typhoons in the world, averaging 20 typhoons annually, with about 7–9 that actually make landfall. In 2009, the Philippines had the third highest number of casualties from natural disasters with the second most number of victims.
Climate change has had and will continue to have drastic effects on the climate of the Philippines. From 1951 to 2010, the Philippines saw its average temperature rise by 0.65 °C, with fewer recorded cold nights and more hot days. Since the 1970s, the number of typhoons during the El Niño season has increased. The Philippines has not only seen 0.15 meters of sea level rise since 1940, but also seen 0.6 to 1 °C increase in sea surface temperatures since 1910, and 0.09 °C increase in ocean temperatures since 1950. During the time period from 1990 to 2006, the Philippines experienced a number of record-breaking weather events, including the strongest typhoon (wind speeds), the most destructive typhoons (damages), the deadliest storm (casualties), and the typhoon with the highest 24-hour rainfall on record. A recent study utilizing the Imperial College Storm Model (IRIS) has identified that the most deadliest typhoon that has hit the Philippines had a greater enhanced wind speed of +3.5 m/s compared to the pre-industrial base case
Super typhoon Haiyan
At 04:40 on November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan, also known locally as "Yolanda", made landfall in the Philippines in the Guiuan municipality. The category 5 typhoon continued to travel west, making landfall in several municipalities, and ultimately devastated enormous stretches of the Philippines islands of Samar, Leyte, Cebu, and the Visayan archipelago. Tied for being the strongest landfalling tropical typhoon on record, Typhoon Haiyan had wind speeds of over 300 km/h (almost 190 mph) which triggered major storm surges that wreaked havoc on many places in the country. Leaving over 6,300 dead, 28,688 injured, and 1062 missing, Typhoon Haiyan is the deadliest typhoon on record in the Philippines. More than 16 million people were affected by the storm, suffering from the storm surge, flash floods, landslides, and extreme winds and rainfall that took lives, destroyed homes, and devastated many. Typhoon Haiyan crucially damaged over 1.1 million houses across the country and displaced over 4.1 million people. According to the NDRRMC, the storm cost the Philippines about 3.64 billion US dollars. The typhoon caused significant damage to some agricultural areas farmed by the Suludnon indigenous people in the Jayubo village of Lambunao, Iloilo.
Coastal ecosystems and fisheries
Climate change and global warming and the rising amounts of in the atmosphere have contributed to ocean warming and ocean acidification. The ocean has acted as a carbon sink for earth for millennia and is currently slowing the rate of global warming through the sequestration of carbon. This comes at a cost however as the oceans are becoming more and more acidic as they sequester more carbon dioxide. Ocean acidification has dire consequences as it causes coral bleaching and ultimately leads to the collapse of coral reefs (usaid). Rising sea levels cause increased salinity that can have damaging impacts on the country's extensive system of mangroves. Both coral reefs and mangroves help reduce coastal erosion and support water quality. Erosion from the loss of coral reefs and mangroves increase the chance of coastal flooding and loss of land. Coral reefs and mangroves also act as important feeding and spawning areas for many fish species that many fisherfolk depend on for survival. Over 60% of the coastal population depends on marine resources such as coral reefs or mangroves for their contributions to fisheries, tourism, and storm protection.
As of 2015, there is an estimated 1.9 million fisherfolk in the Philippines. Fisherfolk are among the country's poorest sectors in society.
Sea level rise Globally, an estimated 150 million people live in communities that will be submerged in water by 2050. The Philippines is among the countries most affected by rising sea levels. Children are the most vulnerable. As of 2023, records from three decades show sea levels rising by 7 to 10 centimeters per decade along Philippine coasts, which is three times faster than the world average.
Philippine coastlines, one of the longest in the world, stretch more than 36,000 kilometers. Coastal areas and their communities are threatened by rising sea levels and gradual submersion. These endanger the livelihood of fishing communities as well as the country's food security.
Among the areas that will be severely affected are Manila Bay and Isla Pamarawan, Malolos, Bulacan. Metro Manila faces compounding risks from anthropogenic land subsidence driven by groundwater extraction, which reaches up to 109 mm/year in the northern CAMANAVA zone. Combined with gravitational sea-level fingerprints, this projects a relative sea-level rise of 1.51–2.00 m by 2100 under high-emission scenarios, significantly exceeding global mean projections.
Future projections Future projections for the current trajectory of climate change predict that global warming is likely to exceed 3 °C, potentially 4 °C, by 2060. Specifically in the Philippines, average temperatures are "virtually certain" to see an increase of 1.8 to 2.2 °C. This temperature increase will stratify the local climate and cause the wet and dry seasons to be wetter and drier, respectively. Most areas in the Philippines will see reduced rainfall from March to May, while Luzon and Visayas will see increased heavy rainfall. There will also be an increase in: the number of days that exceed 35 °C; that have less than 2.5 mm of rainfall; and that have more than 300mm of rainfall. Additionally, climate change will continue to increase the intensity of typhoons and tropical storms. Sea levels around the Philippines are projected to rise 0.48 to 0.65 meters by 2100, which exceeds the global average for rates of sea level rise.Kahana, Ron, et al. "Projections of mean sea level change for the Philippines." (2016). Combined with sea level rise, this stratification into more extreme seasons and climates increases the frequency and severity of storm surge, floods, landslides, and droughts. These exacerbate risks to agriculture, energy, water, infrastructure, human health, and coastal ecosystems.
Impacts on people
Economic and social impacts
Agriculture