In 2024, the planet experienced 58 billion-dollar weather disasters, making it the second-highest year on record, following only 2023, which saw 73 such events, according to an annual report by insurance broker Gallagher released in mid January. The total damage caused by weather disasters in 2024 amounted to $402 billion.
The infographic below provides details of the five most expensive disasters.
Most-expensive-disasters-24Download pdf of Infographic
In using the term ‘Extreme Weather’ we refer to severe and unusual weather conditions that significantly deviate from expected climate patterns or are of a higher intensity. These events, including heatwaves, extreme cold, storms, extreme rainfall and floods, droughts, and wildfires. Such events can be highly destructive, posing risks to human life, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
It is hard to represent in words the sheer magnitude of the extreme rainfall event that brought devastating floods to…
The wonderful map designed and hand plotted by Michael Ferragamo of the hurricane landfalls on the United States coastline from…
