From droughts, floods, wildfires and tropical storms, no corner of the globe was spared by disastrous climate events in 2023.
A new report reveals the 20 most financially costly climate disasters of the year – and all six of the world’s populated continents are on the list.
At the top is the shocking Hawaii wildfires in August, which killed at least 100 people and cost over $4,000 per person in damages.
Also featured are the storms in Guam in May – which cost almost $1,500 per head of population – floods in New Zealand, droughts in Spain and wildfires in Chile.
Experts describe 2023 as ‘the year of climate breakdown’ and blame the extreme events on a ‘failure to rapidly phase out of fossil fuels‘.
Christian Aid has ranked the top 20 costliest climate disasters of the year. Its new report divides the total damages caused by each disaster by the total population of the affected area, thereby providing an estimation of economic burden per person
International charity Christian Aid published the analysis in the new report, entitled ‘Counting the Cost 2023: A year of climate breakdown’.
It said many of the awful events received ‘little international attention’ despite all having a ‘heavy cost’, not just in the financial sense.
‘With 2023 the hottest year on record, the effects of climate change are more obvious than ever before,’ said the charity’s chief executive Patrick Watt.
‘The human cost of the climate crisis is seen increasingly in homes washed away and lives ended by floods and storms, and crops and livestock lost to drought.
‘This year was once again devastating if you happened to live in a climate vulnerable country.’
Scientists are increasingly linking extreme weather events with the warming of the planet, which is being largely caused by carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
For example, warmer air can hold more moisture – meaning more intense rainfall and flooding.
Storms are becoming more intense too, because warmer sea surface temperatures increase wind speeds.
And warmer conditions increases the risk and severity of wildfires, by creating a ‘tinderbox’ environment of dry and readily-combustible vegetation.
The Hawaii wildfires in August killed at least 100 people and cost over $4,000 per person in damages. Pictured, a volunteer makes damage assessment of charred apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 12
Hawaii wildfires: The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on August 8, 2023
The charity found the highest per capita cost of natural disasters was the wildfires which affected Hawaii in August
For the report, Christian Aid divided the total damages caused by each disaster by the total population of the affected area – providing an estimation of economic burden per person.
‘This method offers a more individualised perspective of the disaster’s impact, highlighting the financial strain on the average citizen rather than just the aggregate economic toll,’ the report explains.
The charity found the highest per person cost of natural disasters was the wildfires which affected Hawaii in August.
The cost of these wildfires averages at $4,161 per person – more than any other climate weather event of the year.
It’s also nearly three times the total cost of the next event on the list – Guam’s tropical storm in May ($1,455 per person).
For around just 15 hours, a ‘super typhoon’ known as Mawar battered the little US territory, which is situated in the Pacific Ocean around 1,200 miles east of the Philippines.
The ferocity of the storm killed two people, devastated buildings, knocked out utilities and uprooted trees.
Christian Aid noted the high prevalence of storms in the list, which is ‘likely to increase due to climate change’.
Also in the top five were the Vanuatu storm in March ($947 cost per person) and the New Zealand storm of February ($468 per person).
For around 15 hours between May 23 and May 24, super typhoon Mawar battered the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean around 1,200 miles east of the Philippines. With wind speeds of up to 145mph, it was the strongest tropical storm endured in Guam for decades
This powerful image of Cyclone Freddy was captured on the afternoon of February 19 by a NASA satellite
Meanwhile, at position 18 in the list is a cyclone that caused havoc as it moved across the southern Indian Ocean between February and March, known as Cyclone Freddy.
Although it affected several countries such as Mozambique and Madagascar, the hardest-hit was Malawi, where incessant rains caused catastrophic flash floods.
According to Christian Aid, people in wealthier countries such as the US are able to better prepare for possible future extreme weather events, as they’re more able to invest in better homes or take out insurance.
But people in poorer countries like Malawi, resilient buildings are less common and fewer households have the financial buffers that let people recover.
Mofolo Chikaonda, a widow aged 69 from southern Malawi, is quoted in the report: ‘The worst negative impact of Cyclone Freddy that I shall never forget in my entire life is the destruction of the only house that we struggled to construct.’
Vehicles are stranded by flood water in Auckland, New Zealand on January 28, 2023. Record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption.
Tropical cyclone Gabrielle was the worst storm to hit New Zealand so far in the 21st century. Pictured, flooding in the Hawkes Bay region in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, February 16
A flooded area caused by heavy rains across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region on May 26
More people die in disasters in poorer countries due to climate events, according to the experts.
‘It also means that recovery is slower, and more unequal, with many people pushed further into poverty as assets are destroyed or damaged,’ Watt said.
All 20 events that make up the new list are linked to climate change in terms of cause and effect.
Therefore, the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February, as well as the Morocco earthquake in September, are not included.
‘Climate science is not clear on whether climate change is affecting the frequency and intensity of earthquakes,’ the report says.
‘A particular event may “merely” be an example of a long-run historical pattern rather than caused somewhat by climate change.’