2024:Climate Disasters That Caused Billions
2024 witnessed hefty climate disasters. 10 disasters of the year has caused over $200bn in damage, according to a new report by Christian Aid. Storms, hurricanes, floods, and typhoons which caused the most damage in monetary terms this year, as per the report.
Hurricane Milton tops the list. It has caused $60bn in damage when it tore through the US in October and killed 25 people. Hurricane Helene, that struck the US, Cuba and Mexico in September, caused at least $55bn in losses as well as 232 fatalities. Floods in China caused a loss of $15.6bn and claimed 315 lives. Storm Boris and flooding in Spain and Germany combined for at least $14bn in damage and 258 fatalities.
Cyclone Chido, which struck the French territory of Mayotte in December, may have killed over 1,000 people. In Colombia, a severe drought caused the Amazon river to drop by 90 per cent, jeopardising the livelihoods of Indigenous communities who depend on it for food and transport, as per media report.
Also Read: After Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton Batters Florida
Heatwaves in Bangladesh affected 33 million people, while in Southern Africa, a historic drought left 14 million struggling for survival across Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Scientists say that the growing intensity of such disasters, is being “supercharged” by fossil fuel emissions. “There is nothing natural about the growing severity and frequency of droughts, floods, and storms…Disasters are being supercharged by decisions to keep burning fossil fuels, and to allow emissions to rise”, said Christian Aid CEO Patrick Watt, as reported by The Independent.
The charity analysed insurance payouts to calculate losses from disasters every year. For the first time since it started in 2018, there have been two disasters in a year amounting to losses of over $50bn in a year. US alone suffered almost 71 per cent of the losses from 10 worst disasters.
Also Read: Hurricane Helene Makes Landfall In Florida; Heads To Georgia
Scientists also note that the financial costs are only part of the story. Many of the worst-affected regions are in poorer nations, where fewer people have access to insurance, and the human toll is much harder to quantify.
2024 is also going to be the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023, with global temperatures edging dangerously close to the 1.5C threshold above pre-industrial levels. Scientists repeatedly warned that breaching this limit – set as a goal in the Paris Agreement – will bring even more catastrophic consequences.
For instance, Hurricane Helene, was reportedly fuelled by unusually warm sea temperatures that scientists say were made 200-500 times more likely by climate change. A rapid shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial, but governments also need to increase investment in climate adaptation for the most vulnerable communities, said scientists.
(With inputs from agencies)
