Typhoon Haiyan 'A Wake-Up Call' For Climate Change

The devastating typhoon in the Philippines must act as a wake-up call to the impact of climate change, aid agencies have warned.

Members of the Disaster Emergencies Committee (DEC) are warning leaders meeting at the UN climate talks in Warsaw that the disaster offers a glimpse of the future if urgent action is not taken.

Aid agencies including Christian Aid, CAFOD, Care International, Oxfam and Tearfund said ministers meeting in the Poland capital must act urgently because climate change is likely to make such extreme weather events more common in future.

Climate models forecast that typhoons could become more powerful and that weather-related events around the world will be more extreme and frequent, they warned.

Family members carry a relative's coffin through a destroyed chapel

The aid agencies said the governments meeting must deliver more climate finance, drastically cut global emissions and establish a loss and damage mechanism which would obligate developed countries to help those who are at risk of the effects of climate change.

The DEC and other agencies are working to deliver life-saving aid to the millions affected by the typhoon - said to be the strongest ever to make landfall - which saw wind speeds of up to 200 miles an hour flattening swathes of the Asian island nation.

Oxfam's head of advocacy, Max Lawson, said: "This should be a wake-up call for negotiators who have been sleepwalking through a process fraught with delay and indecision.

A damaged fishing boat lies submerged on Bantayan Island

"The images we have seen from the Philippines are a reminder that climate change is not about numbers and process, but a growing reality for poor people who desperately need support to protect themselves and build safer futures."

Delegates from 195 countries are taking part in the annual UN climate talks, which are taking place November from 11 to 22.

It comes as delayed emergency supplies continue to flow into the central Philippines on Saturday.

People in a temporary shelter in Tacloban city

More than a week after Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 3,633 people, the UN has doubled its estimate of homeless to nearly two million.

There are still 1,179 people missing, according to national figures.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino will visit the typhoon-hit areas today. He has faced criticism for a slow response to the disaster and unclear estimates of casualties, especially in the hardest-hit Tacloban area.

A child's teddy bear is hung out to dry

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged an additional £30m on Saturday for international aid agencies working in the country.

It brings the total amount pledged by the British Government to £50m, on top of £33m in donations from the public.

Japan will also send 1,180 troops to the island nation, along with US military assistance from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier.

A number of Britons are still missing following the disaster, Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed on Saturday.

Among those feared dead is Colin Bembridge, 61, from Grimsby, who was staying with his partner Maybelle, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Victoria near Tacloban when the storm hit.

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