{"id":1830,"date":"2026-09-28T14:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/28\/climate-disasters-are-getting-worse-risks-escalate-when-authoritarian-regimes-keep-neighbours-in-the-dark\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:33:18","slug":"climate-disasters-are-getting-worse-risks-escalate-when-authoritarian-regimes-keep-neighbours-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/28\/climate-disasters-are-getting-worse-risks-escalate-when-authoritarian-regimes-keep-neighbours-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate disasters are getting worse \u2013 risks escalate when authoritarian regimes keep neighbours in the dark"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> shankar bhujel\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Authoritarian regimes have a history of keeping information about escalating disasters secret, even when it could harm their own citizens. <\/p>\n

With more weather-related disasters caused by<\/a> climate change predicted<\/a>, the issue of whether governments are willing to act faster to share information with neighbouring nations is an increasing concern<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The signs are not positive. After the recent massive floods on the Nepal-Tibet border, Chinese state media tightly controlled reporting with a focus on rescue<\/a> attempts, rather than devastation. It also heavily censored unofficial accounts. <\/p>\n

Handheld and security camera footage that showed the destruction at the border appears to have vanished from Chinese media<\/a> platforms. <\/p>\n

On this occasion and in the past, Nepal has accused China of not sharing information<\/a> quickly about escalating dangers. But Beijing denied there was any disinformation<\/a>, and said information was released in a \u201ctimely\u201d way in this recent incident.<\/p>\n

A new report<\/a> says the Himalayas are approaching a tipping point in terms of the speed and risks of glacier melting and lack of monitoring \u2013 with millions of lives and livelihoods at risk. So this issue could not be more urgent.<\/p>\n

The recent behaviour of another world power, Russia, cast doubt on its willingness to be transparent during a disaster. When floods caused Siberia\u2019s Ishim River to overflow in 2025, local officials<\/a> hid much of the damage.<\/p>\n

The severe consequences of such secrecy is apparent throughout recent history. In 1984, Ethiopian military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam concealed and downplayed the catastrophic drought which led to a famine, in order to protect the country\u2019s image. A strict media blackout<\/a> was enforced, as Mengistu\u2019s government refused to share data regarding the scale of the crisis or even acknowledge there was one. <\/p>\n

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\n Read more:
\n Nepal-Tibet disaster linked to climate change \u2013 a glaciologist explains<\/a>
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Instead, he prioritised spending over US$100 million<\/a> (\u00a387 million) on celebrations to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Ethiopia\u2019s Marxist revolution. <\/p>\n

Mengistu ignored the ongoing mass starvation crisis in speeches. He also blocked international aid workers and journalists from entering the starving regions. An estimated one million people died<\/a> due to this lack of action.<\/p>\n

Another potential issue is the impact on shared water sources<\/a>. If autocracies hide prolonged droughts, they may secretly over-extract shared resources, potentially drying out neighbouring territories.<\/p>\n

Nepal\u2019s recent devastating floods are linked to melting glaciers caused by climate change.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chernobyl\u2019s cover-up<\/h2>\n

History shows that lack of warnings about escalating dangers caused by a disaster can have devastating effects in nearby countries. <\/p>\n

The nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union in 1986 was also covered up. KGB archives revealed<\/a> that classified information<\/a> on the extent of the radiation and contamination were kept secret. <\/p>\n

Critical information was not released to the Ukrainian people and inhabitants of western Europe until months, and even years, later. Advocacy group Greenpeace estimated that there were potentially between 100,000<\/a> and 250,000 additional deaths \u2013 mostly due to radiation in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia \u2013 because of this lack of transparency.<\/p>\n

Myanmar\u2019s quasi-military government<\/a> has regularly hidden<\/a> valuable information from journalists, aid workers and other countries after each disaster in that country.<\/p>\n

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar in April 2025 killed thousands of people, causing bodies to pile up. Rather than facilitate the support of aid workers, supplies were blocked<\/a> and confiscated by the military.<\/p>\n

Not allowing humanitarian aid to come through in a timely fashion can also accelerate a refugee crisis<\/a>, as desperate populations may flee in search of help.<\/p>\n

Censorship and repression<\/h2>\n

Autocracies are more likely<\/a> to censor and monitor media platforms than democracies. For instance, China<\/a> recently stopped non-official content being shared about the August 2026 floods.<\/p>\n

Some autocracies also restrict access<\/a> for international aid workers, independent scientists and observers. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s another example from 2019. When Zimbabwe was hit by tropical cyclone Idai<\/a>, its government restricted the involvement of international aid workers, which reduced recovery efforts<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Research<\/a> has also shown that authoritarian regimes can escalate repression against their own citizens during disasters.<\/p>\n

What happened at Chernobyl?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Greater levels of secrecy has implications for disease. Natural disasters frequently lead to infectious disease outbreaks<\/a>. A government\u2019s refusal to report a climate-driven outbreak could prevent neighbouring states from taking protective measures. <\/p>\n

Authoritarian regimes<\/a> also frequently suppress or delay data regarding extreme weather, glacial melts or industrial accidents to protect the regime\u2019s image<\/a>. This can compromise the safety, stability and economy of their own citizens and, potentially, neighbouring countries too. <\/p>\n

Ecosystems and disasters do not respect political borders. Information censorship and the suppression of data will make us all more vulnerable as climate change-driven incidents escalate.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Natasha Lindstaedt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

shankar bhujel\/Shutterstock Authoritarian regimes have a history of keeping information about escalating disasters secret, even when it could harm their own citizens. With more weather-related disasters caused by climate change predicted, the issue of whether governments are willing to act faster to share information with neighbouring nations is an increasing concern. The signs are not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}