Natural disasters caused $320 billion in damage in countries around the world in 2024, German reinsurer Munich Re estimated.
The amount is significantly higher than the average over the past ten years, the company said, adding that 2024 ranked among the years with the highest natural disaster losses since 1980, even when adjusted for inflation.
“The world has never seen such high temperatures, and they bring stronger storms, extreme weather and flooding,” said Chief Climatologist Tobias Grimm.
“Not every storm can be attributed to climate change, but it’s increasingly clear that climate change is playing a significant role,” Grimm said.
Smaller sum assured
The insured amount of damage in 2024 amounts to only about 140 billion dollars, they stated in the report published on Thursday. Over the past thirty years, it has averaged $181 billion a year, when inflation is excluded, they add.
In the past ten years, the average was significantly higher and amounted to 236 billion dollars.
Last year was the third in terms of the amount of insured loss damages since 1980, and the fifth in terms of the amount of total damages, they calculated.
11 thousand lives lost
Natural disasters took eleven thousand lives last year, less than the average, partly because the world was spared a disaster like the earthquake in Turkey and Syria in 2023, which killed tens of thousands of people.
At the same time, the data shows that “prevention brings results”, said Grim.
In the past decades, many countries have invested significantly more efforts in mitigating the consequences of typhoons and earthquakes.
More expensive shelves
Munich Re has been documenting damage from natural disasters for years since it is an important factor in the calculation of insurance premiums.
Larger amounts of damage over a longer period of time mean significantly more expensive insurance policies.
Insurers divide natural disasters into “hazardous weather events of short duration,” such as major hurricanes or earthquakes, and everyday risks, such as thunderstorms and floods.
“In 2024, we had both – hurricanes that caused a lot of damage and a series of storms and floods. That’s why the losses in 2024 are significantly higher than in the previous year and above the long-term average,” explains Grim.
Hurricanes in the USA
Last year, North America also recorded the largest damage from natural disasters, amounting to 190 billion dollars, according to reinsurers.
“It’s because of the hurricanes and the storm season that caused a lot of damage, primarily because of the large number of tornadoes,” Grimm said.
Hurricanes Helena and Milton alone caused $94 billion in damage, Munich Re estimates.
California has been ravaged by devastating wildfires these days. According to geoscientists, the densely populated American federal state is among the high-risk areas.
Floods in Spain
The long-term trend of increasing damages from natural disasters can also be observed in Europe, they emphasize, estimating that last year it amounted to 31 billion dollars.
The insured amount of damage is 14 billion dollars, they added.
“The floods in Valencia, Spain alone caused more than four billion dollars in insurance-covered damages,” Grim emphasized.
Extreme weather conditions are now also recorded in regions that were spared from them until recently, he added, highlighting the example of the floods in Dubai in April.
