Year of living dangerously for millions

This year has seen aid agencies respond to more disasters around the world than ever before.

From the earthquake in Haiti to the flooding in Pakistan, natural disasters and conflicts have provoked an even bigger response than in 2005, the year of the Asian tsunami.

The UK public gave 106 million to Haiti and 64m to Pakistan during the Disaster Emergency Committee appeals, the second and third largest responses of all time.

Save the Children said aid agencies are responding "to more natural disasters in insecure environments than ever before" and Oxfam said it had been "a year of living dangerously for millions of people".

Save the Children, which responded to 40 emergencies in 29 countries this year, believes the crises are becoming more frequent and more complex.

A combination of climate change, population growth and urbanisation means an increasing number of people are vulnerable.

The charity estimates that the number of people affected by climate-related disasters each year is likely to rise from 250 million today to 375 million in 2015, with droughts, cyclones, flooding and crop failures all expected to get worse due to the changing weather patterns.

Children from the poorest families were up to ten times more likely to suffer from environmental disasters linked to climate change.

Emergencies director Gareth Owen said: "In the last year, Save the Children has responded to 40 emergencies in 29 different countries, including two massive and challenging disasters - the Haiti earthquake and the flooding in Pakistan.

"Aid agencies, like Save the Children, are responding to more natural disasters in insecure environments than ever before. This is likely to continue in the coming years as we see more and more children and families affected by natural disasters like cyclones and droughts, as well as conflicts.

"In Niger, drought caused a severe food crisis which left 7.1 million people hungry and 300,000 children under five at risk of death. Save the Children, alongside other aid agencies, is facing enormous challenges in saving and sustaining the lives of the millions of children and their families affected by emergencies around the world.

"Looking forward, we must ensure that we're fully prepared to respond to these disasters by stockpiling emergency supplies, educating communities so they know what to do when a disaster strikes, and finding better ways to work in co-ordination together so we are all more effective."

In the first 11 months of the year Save the Children spent 96.5m on emergencies, compared to 23.5m in 2005.

An Oxfam spokesman said the three big disasters of the year were the earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan and the food shortage in West Africa.

"The UK public gave 106m to Haiti and 64m to Pakistan Disaster Emergency Committee Appeals. Only the massive Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami raised more," he said.Following the Asian tsunami 390m was donated directly to DEC with another 50m to member agencies.