Natural disasters do occur and have become a global problem due to increasing intensity. Developing countries are mostly affected due to natural disasters owing to a poor environment, feeble adaptation, impoverished socioeconomic conditions, poor infrastructure, limited resources, and unstable institutions. The SDG 11.5 target which highlights the mitigation of loss due to natural disasters--remains crucial to achieving sustainable cities and human settlements--but the literature is limited on this scope. Thus, this research contributes to the literature by incorporating an infrastructure index, foreign direct investment (FDI), human capital index, globalization, and capital formation into the disaster-growth debate across four-income groups in 98 countries from 1995 to 2019. We developed infrastructure and human capital indices using a standard procedure across all income groups. The two-step generalized method of moments employed herein confirmed the income reduction effect of natural disasters. While the economic cost of natural disasters is relatively high in low-income countries and mild in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Besides, infrastructural development, FDI, human capital, globalization, and gross fixed capital formation also affect economic growth across income groups. Thus, the enhancement of socio-economic policies could decline economic losses, especially in vulnerable and poor settlements in developing countries.

This study was designed to investigate the impact of meteorological indicators (temperature, rainfall, and humidity) on total COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, its provinces, and administrative units from March 10, 2020, to August 25, 2020. The correlation analysis showed that COVID-19 cases and temperature showed a positive correlation. It implies that the increase in COVID-19 cases was reported due to an increase in the temperature in Pakistan, its provinces, and administrative units. The generalized Poisson regression showed that the rise in the expected log count of COVID-19 cases was 0.024 times for a 1 °C rise in the average temperature in Pakistan. Second, the correlation between rainfall and COVID-19 cases was negative in Pakistan. However, the regression coefficient between the expected log count of COVID-19 cases and rainfall was insignificant in Pakistan. Third, the correlation between humidity and the total COVID-19 cases was negative, which implies that the increase in humidity is beneficial to stop the transmission of COVID-19 in Pakistan, its provinces, and administrative units. The reduction in the expected log count of COVID-19 cases was 0.008 times for a 1% increase in the humidity per day in Pakistan. However, humidity and COVID-19 cases were positively correlated in Sindh province. It is required to create awareness among the general population, and the government should include the causes, symptoms, and precautions in the educational syllabus. Moreover, people should adopt the habit of hand wash, social distancing, personal hygiene, mask-wearing, and the use of hand sanitizers to control the COVID-19.