By the end of the century, up to 95% of languages ​​may disappear, including due to global warming

Due to natural disasters, largely related to global warming, more and more people are moving to places where they have to speak a foreign language. According to UN estimates, by the end of this century, up to 95% of the seven thousand currently existing languages ​​may disappear.

According to the director of the department of regional languages ​​at Canada’s Queen’s University, Anastasia Riel, many small language communities are located on islands and coasts that are vulnerable to hurricanes and sea level rise. Others live in lands where warming threatens traditional methods of farming and fishing. All these factors encourage people to migrate. Communities disperse to places where their language is not valued.

In 2021, 23.7 million people left their homes due to natural disasters, compared to 18.8 million in 2018. Most of the migration occurs in the Asia-Pacific region, where the population of island states is rapidly decreasing.

However, it is precisely here that the languages ​​of indigenous peoples flourish. According to New Zealand experts, one of the world’s five languages ​​belongs to the Pacific region. In Vanuatu – an island state in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean – 110 languages ​​are now spoken, the country has the highest language density on the planet. Also, Vanuatu is one of the countries most exposed to the risk of sea level rise.

• At the last climate summit of the UN, developing countries assigned the responsibility for frequent natural disasters to rich countries. They noted that due to their economic activity, world emissions of greenhouse gases increase and global warming worsens, the consequences of which also affect developing countries.
• The participants of the summit agreed to create a fund to help poor countries suffering from natural disasters. The fund should help them cope with the consequences of frequent hurricanes and floods.