2021: more and more costly climate disasters | Climate and Environment

2021 began with one of the worst droughts in California and a series of landslides. And it ended with several deadly tornadoes in the Southeast and a colossal wildfire in Colorado in December, which was also the hottest December on record. Climate change leaves more and more natural disasters in the United States. The past was one of the most catastrophic: 20 episodes that caused the death of 688 people and damages of 145,000 million dollars, according to an official report published on Monday. Climate deterioration is costing humans more and more with more and more common incidents.

The record of disasters experienced in 2021 places it as the second year with the most billion-dollar incidents only after 2020, which recorded 22. The recent trend is worrying. The past has become the seventh year in a row that ten or more catastrophic events have been recorded. Everything indicates that there is an increase in droughts, floods, frosts, storms, hurricanes, forest fires, winter storms and tornadoes. In the past decade, between 2010 and 2019, there were, on average, about 12.3 annually. The last three years, on the other hand, have left 18.7.

The Preliminary report of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa for its acronym in English) points out that historically the south, center and southeast of the United States are the most affected by this type of phenomenon. Texas had a winter storm in February that left hundreds of deaths. In addition, it experienced the worst series of hail storms in nine years between April 12 and 15. The region was also impacted by four hurricanes, Zeta, Delta, Sally and Laura, which together with Tropical Storm Eta left record flooding. “These areas also have the most negative future impacts projected,” says the document, which will be released in full on Thursday.

One of the most notorious impacts of these disasters is the number of human lives claimed. With 688 deaths, 2021 is the sixth deadliest year among those analyzed by the agency, beginning in 1980 (where there were only three with 1,280 victims: a five-month drought, Hurricane Allen and a few storms). The drought, which was present 12 months of the year in several states in the south and southeast of the country, and the high temperatures that cause it were the deadliest phenomenon with 229 deaths. They are followed by the winter storms at the beginning of the year, which left 226 dead. The combination of four hurricanes and 15 storms left 228 people dead. Forest fires, although very shocking, are the ones that leave the fewest victims. Only eight in a year.

The cost of the 20 disasters left damages of 145,000 million dollars. It is the third costliest year for insurers after 2017 and 2005. “The number and costs of disasters are increasing over time thanks to a combination of exposure and vulnerability. Climate change is increasing the frequency of certain extremes that cause disasters of more than a billion dollars, ”says Noaa, citing the fourth climate report, made in 2018 by several specialized agencies in the United States.

The most expensive were four hurricanes, which left an account of 78,000 million dollars, 54% of the total amount of the twenty incidents. Almost all of this was generated by Ida, the most damaging storm to make landfall in the southeast of the country since the late 19th century. The meteor left immense devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi with losses of $ 75 billion. This is followed by Fred, who hit several entities in August, with damages of 1.3 billion. The frosts experienced in Texas, which were aggravated by failures in the electricity grid that caused a political crisis for the local government, were also among the largest: 24,000 million dollars (16%).

The impressive tornadoes that closed a year of destruction in the central and southeastern areas of the country, affecting mainly several counties of Kentucky, represented losses of 5.700 million dollars. “I’ve never seen such destruction,” President Joe Biden said when he visited the area on December 15. Climate change calls for fastening our seat belts to face 12 months where we have become accustomed to the disaster being normal.

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