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Climate Disasters: $120 Billion Lost in 2025
27 Dec
Summary
- Climate disasters in 2025 caused over $120 billion in damages globally.
- Asia faced four of the six most expensive climate disasters this year.
- Poorer nations' deadliest events were often uninsured and undercounted.
In 2025, extreme weather events linked to climate change inflicted damages exceeding $120 billion globally. Asia was disproportionately affected, hosting four of the six costliest disasters, including devastating cyclones and floods that killed over 1,750 people across multiple nations. This year's events underscore how wealthier countries with robust insurance capture the highest financial loss figures.
However, the true human cost is far greater, as many of the deadliest events in less affluent nations were largely uninsured and undercounted. While the United States experienced its costliest disaster with California wildfires causing over $60 billion in damage, events in countries like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which claimed hundreds of lives, did not appear in global cost rankings.
Experts emphasize that these are not natural disasters but consequences of continued fossil fuel expansion. As 2025 concludes as one of the warmest years on record, the intensifying extreme weather events, from heavier rainfall to prolonged droughts and wildfires, highlight the urgent need for political action and equitable climate finance.
