Norway best prepared for disaster.

• Position: Climate Change - Brief article

Norway is the best prepared country for climate change and has been so for almost 20 years, according to Global Adaptation Index data released by the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.

ND-GAIN is an annual index that ranks 175-plus countries based on their vulnerability to climate change and their readiness to adapt to the droughts, superstorms, and natural disasters that climate change can cause.

New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Australia, United Kingdom, U.S., Germany, and Iceland round out the top 10 countries most prepared for climate change. In contrast, Afghanistan and several nations from sub-Saharan Africa such as Liberia, Sudan, and Burundi have some of the lowest scores in the index.

The highest-ranked countries share certain characteristics. Many face only moderate exposure to climate change, but they have good capacities to deal with the potential climate risks, including high access to amenities such as electricity, sanitation, and clean drinking water. In general...