(Paris) The 10 most costly weather disasters of 2021 exceeded total damages of $170 billion, a number that is increasing through 2020 and reflects the increasing impact of global warming, according to a British NGO.
The 10 disasters have killed at least 1,075 people and displaced more than 1.3 million, according to Christian Aid’s annual report released on Monday.
Last year, the amount of economic damage caused by the 10 most costly weather events was calculated at around $150 billion by the NGO, indicating that most assessments are “based only on insured damage, indicating higher real costs.”
This economic arrangement reflects disasters in rich countries, with more developed and better secured infrastructures, but the NGO states that “some of the most devastating extreme weather events in 2021 hit poor countries, which contributed little to the causes of climate change.” “And where most of the damage is uninsured.
In South Sudan, floods, whose economic cost has not been assessed, affected about 800,000 people, for example Christian Aid recalls.
The most costly disaster was the storm Ida (late August/early September), significantly leading to flooding in New York, with economic costs estimated at $65 billion.
Then come the July floods in Germany, Belgium and neighboring countries with losses of 43 billion dollars, then the winter storm Urey in the United States, with a cold wave as far as Texas, which significantly affected the power grid and caused 23 billion damage. .
Photo by Christoph Stach, Agence France-Presse Archives
The July floods in Germany, Belgium and neighboring countries caused $43 billion in losses.
A fourth disaster with more than $10 billion in losses, flooded China’s Henan Province in July at a cost of $17.6 billion.
Then follow the floods in British Columbia in Canada (November, 7.5 billion), the cold snap in late April in France (5.6 billion), which destroyed prestigious vineyards, and the hurricane. Desperate In India and Bangladesh (May, 3 billion), the cyclone Viva In China (July, 2 billion), floods in Australia (March 2.1 billion) and typhoon tucta In India and Sri Lanka (May, 1.5 billion).
In mid-December, reinsurer Swiss Re published a total estimate of the cost of natural disasters in 2021 around the world, which is estimated at $ 250 billion, an increase of 24% compared to 2020.
“The costs of climate change have been high this year,” Kat Kramer, climate director at Christian Aid and author of the report, commented in a statement.
Weather disasters have always been around, but climate change caused by human activity is increasing their frequency and impact, scientists predict.