Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is at risk of hydrometeorological hazards and natural disasters, which are expected to primarily affect agriculture and human health, through seasonal flooding and periods of drought.  The projected impacts from climate change make BiH increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards: droughts, heat waves, heavy precipitation, landslides, and floods. The most common natural disasters are associated with heavy rainstorms that may cause mudslides and flooding of large areas of agricultural land, houses and industrial buildings, and lead to other changes in the environment.  Droughts may become more frequent in some areas due to river runoff decrease or drying in the country’s lowland areas as well as from increased demand and consumption from economic development and population growth. Climate change is expected to increase risks and severity of natural disasters in BiH through more intense temperatures as well as rainfall patterns, prolonged heat waves, and water scarcity.

This section provides a summary of key natural hazards and their associated socioeconomic impacts in a given country. And it allows quick evaluation of most vulnerable areas through the spatial comparison of natural hazard data with development data, thereby identifying exposed livelihoods and natural systems.