With 170 billion dollars in damage, the cost of climate disasters climbed in 2021

In just a few months, global warming has continued to explode the bill: the ten most costly weather disasters of 2021 have exceeded 170 billion dollars (150 billion euros) in damage in total, a figure increasing on 2020, according to the British NGO Christian Aid, which publishes its annual report on Monday, December 27. Last year, the amount of economic damage from the ten most costly weather events was calculated at nearly 150 billion dollars (132 billion euros) by the association.

These figures are surely underestimated, since most of the evaluations “are based only on the insured losses, which suggests even higher real costs”, also warns the NGO. Over the past year, the ten disasters that have caused the most economic costs have also killed at least 1,075 and displaced more than 1.3 million people, she said.

The costliest disaster was Storm Ida, which hit 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 the winter storm Uri in the United States, with a cold snap as far as Texas, which notably affected the power grid and caused 23 billion damage.

A fourth disaster exceeds $ 10 billion in damage, flooding China’s Henan Province in July at a cost of $ 17.6 billion. We also note the floods in British Columbia in Canada (November, 7.5 billion) and the late cold snap of April in France (5.6 billion), which devastated prestigious vineyards.

This economic classification thus over-represents the disasters that have occurred in rich countries, with more developed and better insured infrastructures, but Christian Aid recalls that “some of the most devastating extreme weather events of 2021 have hit poor countries, which have contributed little to the causes of climate change” and where most of the damage is not insured.

Cyclone Yaas in May cost India and Bangladesh $ 3 billion, while in the same month Cyclone Tauktae caused $ 1.5 billion in damage to India again and Sri Lanka. In South Sudan, moreover, floods, the economic cost of which could not be assessed, affected some 800,000 people, notes the association.

In mid-December, the reinsurer Swiss Re had 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 impacts, in line with scientists’ predictions.