Damage caused by floods, hurricanes and other extreme weather events amounted to around €250 billion in the last year. This was calculated by Munich Re, the largest reinsurer in the world. The damage is roughly equal to the average of the last five years and is less than 300 billion euros in 2021.
Hurricane Ian, which hit the US state of Florida in September, was the natural disaster that caused the most financial damage over the past year. The total costs amount to 100 billion dollars (93 billion euros). More than a hundred people were also killed.
Pakistan has experienced floods, caused by large amounts of rain and melting glaciers. These caused one thousand seven hundred deaths and 14 billion euros in damages. There has also been flooding in Australia due to heavy rains. Due to low rainfall and high summer temperatures, Europe was actually struggling with drought.
Disasters made 2022 one of the years with the most damage from natural disasters. According to Munich Re, a company where insurers insure themselves, global warming leads to an increased risk of natural disasters.
“We cannot attribute any of the disasters directly to climate change,” says Munich Re climatologist Ernst Rauch. “But it increases the possibility of extreme weather events.”
