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In its latest report, Christian Aid identified the 10 most costly climate-related disasters of the year, each causing over $4 billion in damages.<\/p>\nThe year 2024 saw several extreme climate disasters that resulted in billions of dollars in insured losses, underscoring the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, accelerate the transition to renewable energy, and provide funding for vulnerable populations, according to Christian Aid.<\/p>\n
In its latest report, Christian Aid identified the 10 most costly climate-related disasters of the year, each causing over $4 billion in damages.<\/p>\n
Hurricane Milton in October topped the list with $60 billion in damages, followed by Hurricane Helene, which struck the U.S., Cuba, and Mexico in September, causing $55 billion in losses.<\/p>\n
China also faced significant impacts, with floods causing $15.6 billion in damages. In Southwest Asia, Typhoon Yagi made landfall in the Philippines on September 2 before moving through Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. It triggered landslides and flash floods, destroying hundreds of thousands of homes and agricultural land.<\/p>\n
Three of the 10 costliest disasters occurred in Europe, including Storm Boris in central Europe and floods in Spain and Germany, which together caused $13.87 billion in damages.<\/p>\n
The top ten solely focus on financial costs, which are typically higher in wealthier nations due to higher property values and insurance coverage. However, Christian Aid stressed that some of the most devastating climate events in 2024 struck poorer countries, which have contributed little to causing the climate crisis and have limited resources to respond.<\/p>\n
These include Cyclone Chido, which devastated Mayotte in December and likely claimed over a thousand lives, and a severe drought in Colombia, which caused the Amazon River to drop by 90%, threatening Indigenous communities dependent on it for food and transportation. Heatwaves affected 33 million people in Bangladesh and worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Meanwhile, West Africa experienced catastrophic floods, impacting over 6.6 million people across Nigeria, Chad, and Niger. Southern Africa also endured its worst drought in living memory, affecting more than 14 million people in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
Patrick Watt, CEO of Christian Aid, said, \u201cThe human suffering caused by the climate crisis reflects political choices. There is nothing natural about the growing severity and frequency of droughts, floods and storms. Disasters are being supercharged by decisions to keep burning fossil fuels, and to allow emissions to rise. And they\u2019re being made worse by the consistent failure to deliver on financial commitments to the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries. In 2025 we need to see governments leading, and taking action to accelerate the green transition, reduce emissions, and fund their promises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transition to a global economy powered by renewables is inevitable but the question is whether it will move fast enough to protect the poorest people. At the moment, the answer to that is no. Rich countries must provide the funding needed to help the poorest communities adapt to climate impacts they have done little to cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scientific evidence of the lethal toll that burning fossil fuels is taking on people and planet is incontrovertible. This will likely be the hottest year ever recorded, breaking last year\u2019s previous record. These terrible climate disasters are a warning sign of what is to come if we do not accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. They also show the urgent need for adaptation measures, especially in the global South, where resources are especially stretched, and people are most vulnerable to extreme weather events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joanna Haigh, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London, commented, \u201cThis report is a sobering reminder that climate change cannot be ignored and in fact will get much worse until we do something to stop it. Politicians who downplay the urgency of the climate crisis only serve to harm their own people and cause untold suffering around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hard reality is that climate change will not be stopped by political rhetoric, we need to see concrete actions taken to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. The economic impact of these extreme weather events should be a wake-up call. The good news is that ever worsening crises doesn\u2019t have to be our long-term future. The technologies of a clean energy economy exist, but we need leaders to invest in them and roll them out at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davide Faranda, Research Director in Climate Physics at the Institute Pierre Simon Laplace (France), stated, \u201cOnce again, this report shows us that climate change is already having an unbearable cost on our lives. In the last 12 months, extreme weather killed thousands across the world and brought massive damage to our cities and natural ecosystems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is that we can stop and reverse this tendency, and a solution already exists to do so: it\u2019s critical that we stop burning fossil fuels to stop fueling extreme weather. If we don\u2019t, we\u2019ll keep seeing more and more years of suffering and destruction, limiting our window to devise effective adaptation strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Mariam Zachariah, World Weather Attribution researcher at Imperial College London, emphasised, \u201cThis report is just a snapshot of climate devastation in 2024. There are many more droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and floods not included that are becoming more frequent and intense.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of these disasters show clear fingerprints of climate change. Extreme weather is clearly causing incredible suffering in all corners of the world. Behind the billion-dollar figures are lost lives and livelihoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to keep investing in ways to help people out of harm\u2019s way. Reducing our use of coal, oil and gas, the same fossil fuels that are intensifying these events is an important step in this direction. Another is to create conditions to better cope with extreme weather. Unless we work on both fronts, the cost of climate change will continue to increase.\u201d<\/p>\n
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