Extreme weather linked to climate change has killed two million people since 1970, a shock report has found.
A new study by the World Meteorological Organisation found 90 per cent of the deaths happened in developing countries.
Economic damage from the likes of floods, storms and wildfires has soared by a factor of eight since 1970, totalling a staggering £3.5trillion.
Extreme weather, climate and water-related events have caused 11,778 disasters in the last half century, the WMO’s updated Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes found.
The US alone lost £1.4 trillion from damage to the economy, which accounts for 39 per cent of all losses sustained between 1970 and 2021.
However, the least developed countries and small island developing states have suffered a disproportionately high cost in relation to the size of their economies, the WMO said.
The Atlas found there had been 22,608 deaths due to extreme weather in the last two years. The number of deaths has been gradually falling thanks to improved early warning systems and disaster management.
But of total deaths since 1970, nearly one million took place in Asia - accounting for 47 per cent of all such fatalities - with tropical cyclones the leading cause.
It comes after Cyclone Mocha battered Bangladesh and Myanmar last week. Bangladesh has the highest overall death toll since 1970, with a harrowing 520,758 fatalities due to 281 separate disasters.
Professor Petteri Taalas, the WMO's secretary-general, said: "The most vulnerable communities unfortunately bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards.
"Extremely severe cyclonic storm Mocha exemplifies this. It caused widespread devastation in Myanmar and Bangladesh, impacting the poorest of the poor.
"In the past, both Myanmar and Bangladesh suffered death tolls of tens and even hundreds of thousands of people.
"Thanks to early warnings and disaster management these catastrophic mortality rates are now thankfully history. Early warnings save lives."
In Europe, 166,492 people were killed in 1784 disasters, accounting for 8 per cent of reported deaths worldwide.
Extreme temperatures were the leading cause of reported deaths and floods were the leading cause of economic losses.
Scientists have repeatedly highlighted the link between global warming and extreme weather, with floods, droughts and storms becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.
The WMO wants to ensure that early warning systems reach everyone on Earth by 2027 and has published its findings ahead of the World Meteorological Congress on May 22 to help speed up this process.
Representatives from UN agencies, development banks, governments and national meteorological and hydrological services responsible for issuing early warnings will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, next week.
The Congress, of which the UK is a member, has said the UN's Early Warnings for All initiative is one of its top strategic priorities this year.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
