The ten costliest weather disasters of 2021 topped $ 170 billion in damage in total, according to the annual report by British NGO Christian Aid, published Monday, December 27. This figure reflects the increasingly important economic consequences of climate change, which are added to the human tragedies experienced during such episodes. These ten disasters have killed at least 1,075 people and displaced more than 1.3 million people.
The costliest disaster was Storm Ida in late August and early September, which notably caused flooding in New York City, with estimated economic costs of $ 65 billion. Then come the July floods in Germany, Belgium and neighboring countries, with $ 43 billion in losses, then winter storm Uri in the United States, with a cold snap as far as Texas. A fourth disaster exceeds $ 10 billion in damage, flooding China’s Henan Province in July at a cost of $ 17.6 billion.
Follow the floods in British Columbia in Canada (November, 7.5 billion), the late April cold snap in France (5.6 billion), which devastated prestigious vineyards, Cyclone Yaas in India and Bangladesh (May, 3 billion), Typhoon In-Fa in China (July, 2 billion), floods in Australia (March 2.1 billion) and Cyclone Tauktae in India and Sri Lanka (May, 1.5 billion) .
“The costs of climate change have been high this year”commented Kat Kramer, climate manager at Christian Aid and author of the report. Last year, the amount of economic damage from the ten costliest weather events approached $ 150 billion, according to the NGO, which points out that most estimates “are based only on the insured losses, which suggests even higher real costs”.
This economic classification over-represents the disasters that have occurred in rich countries, with more developed and better insured infrastructures. But the NGO specifies that “some of the most devastating extreme weather events of 2021 have hit poor countries, which have done little to contribute to the causes of climate change” and where most of the damage is not insured. In South Sudan, flooding affected some 800,000 people, but the economic cost could not be assessed.
In mid-December, the reinsurer Swiss Re had already published a global estimate of the cost of natural catastrophes in 2021 in the world, estimated at some 250 billion dollars, up 24% compared to 2020. Weather catastrophes have always existed, but climate change caused by human activity is increasing their frequency and consequences, according to scientists’ predictions.