’20 weather disasters cost $150B – group

PRAGUE: The ten costliest weather disasters worldwide in 2020 saw insured damages worth $150 billion, topping the figure for 2019 and reflecting the long-term impact of global warming, according to a report Monday (Tuesday in Manila).

The same disasters claimed at least 3,500 lives and displaced more than 13.5 million people. From Australia’s out-of-control wildfires in January to a record number of Atlantic hurricanes through November, the true cost of 2020’s climate-enhanced calamities was, in fact, far higher because most losses were uninsured.