Assessment of the intensity of the impact of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena on the socio-economic system of Belarus

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of the impact of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena on the population and economy of the Belarus. The indicators determine the intensity of the impact of hydrometeorological factors and take into account the level of socio-economic development of the region. The authors analysed dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena in the period 2008–2020 according to the state network of hydrometeorological observations of Belarus. Statistical method and mapping method were used. The authors assessed the intensity of the impact of the hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena on the basis of a quantitative analysis of the hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena on the socio-economic system of Belarus. Official data on population, area of administrative districts and GRP of regions are the initial data of the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. The paper proposes an adapted methodology for a multi-scale study of the impact of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena on the economy and population in the context of the local level, mesolevel (region) and macrolevel (country) using geoinformation technologies and information electronic database. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the administrative regions of Belarus have unequal vulnerability to dangerous weather manifestations, therefore, the most vulnerable regions of Belarus were identified, for which hydrometeorological services are of particular importance. From the point of view of the intensity of the impact of the hazardous hydrometeorological phenomen on the socio-economic system, the most unfavorable is Minsk Region. The results showed that the higher the population density and the greater the frequency of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena, the higher the intensity of the possible impact on the population. Accordingly, the higher the GRP, the more significant economic losses can be expected in a particular region of Belarus. Therefore, it is in areas with high GRP that the necessary protective measures should be taken in the first place in order to reduce the consequences of the impact of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena.