The ten most expensive climate-related weather disasters in 2022 cost the world economy a staggering £139 billion, a new report has found.
Christian Aid highlighted the “devastating” impact of storms, floods and droughts around the globe this year made more intense by rising global temperatures.
They include February’s Storm Eunice which battered Scotland and the UK with blizzard conditions and 90mph winds.
Also listed in the report is this year’s European drought, the devastating floods in Pakistan and Hurricane Ian which swept through the US and Cuba, claiming 130 lives, displacing some 40,000 people and costing a staggering £82.4 billion.
The aid agency said there were ten separate “climate disasters” in 2022 that cost the global economy at least £2.5 billion each in terms of insured losses.
Christian Aid chief executive Patrick Watt said it “points to the financial cost of inaction on the climate crisis”.
He added: “Behind the dollar figures lie millions of stories of human loss and suffering. Without major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, this human and financial toll will only increase.
"The human cost of climate change is seen in the homes washed away by floods, loved ones killed by storms and livelihoods destroyed by drought.
"This year was a devastating one if you happened to live on the front line of the climate crisis."
Mr Watt added: "The UK did not escape the ravages of climate change in 2022 with both Storm Eunice and the summer heatwave taking their toll.
"This underlines the need for policies to accelerate the transition to net zero and the folly of the decision to open a new coal mine in Cumbria."
Hurricane Ian, which hit in September, had the biggest financial impact, while the biggest impact in human cost came from the Pakistan floods between June and September.
They caused 1,739 deaths and displaced seven million people - with scientists finding the floods had been made significantly more likely because of climate change.
The floods racked up £4.6 billion in insured losses - but the full cost is estimated to be more than £24 billion.
This summer’s drought in Europe - made 20 times more likely because of global warming - cost £16.5 billion, hitting crop yields, energy plants and shipping, while China’s drought cost around £7 billion and Brazil’s £3.3 billion.
Storm Eunice, which claimed 16 lives across the UK, Ireland and Europe, racked up a bill of around £3.6 billion. The freak storm, described as the worst in a generation, saw record-breaking gusts of 122pmh recorded in the Isle of Wight.
It led to widespread school closures, flight cancellations and stay-at-home warnings and a rare red weather alert for wind put out by the Met Office.
Ten most expensive climate-related disasters of 2022 in terms of insured losses
- February: Storm Eunice in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland and UK, £3.6 billion
- February-March: East Australia floods, £6.2 billion
- April: Floods in KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape, South Africa, £2.5 billion
- June to September: Pakistan floods, £4.6 billion
- June to September: China floods, £10.2 billion
- June to September: European drought, £16.5 billion
- September: Hurricane Fiona, Caribbean and Canada, £2.5 billion
- September-October: Hurricane Ian, in Cuba and the US, £82.4 billion
- All year: Brazil drought, £3.3 billion
- All year: China drought, £6.9 billion
(source: Christian Aid)
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