How 2021 Extreme Weather Events Cost the US About $145 Billion Dollars

There was no lack of disastrous weather catastrophes hitting the United States last year, from pipe-bursting cold in Texas to road-warping heat in the Pacific Northwest, with an endless procession of wildfires thrown in for good measure, as regular Earther readers will know. A new analysis from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) adds to the growing body of knowledge about the economic and human costs of climate change's catastrophic mess.

In a study issued inMonday, the government detailed 20 weather disasters that damaged the US economy at least $145 billion. These climatic or weather incidents resulted in at least $1 billion in damages. The research also claims that last year's extreme weather events killed 688 people throughout the United States, demonstrating that we won't be able to adapt our way out of a more violent environment.

Intense Storms

Tropical storms wreaked the most havoc on the economy in 2021, generating $78.5 billion in damage. Hurricane Ida contributed $74 billion to this total, with the storm wreaking havoc from Louisiana to New York.

Tropical storms were followed by winter storms, which caused $24 billion in damage. Severe hurricanes and wildfires were $20.4 billion and $10.6 billion. The drought and succession of heat waves that swept through the West in 2021 were the worst meteorological events of the year, killing 229 people. (However, some studies have put the death toll from the Pacific Northwest heat wave and the Texas cold snap at far higher levels.)

Alarming Rates

When compared to prior years, these results are even more alarming. Between 1980 and 2021, the average of around seven such weather occurrences costing more than $1 billion was considerably exceeded by the 20 weather events costing more than $1 billion in 2021. Over 15 percent of the 310 weather occurrences with damage over $1 billion in the last 41 years occurred in 2021 alone.

Weather and climate disasters have cost the US economy $742.1 billion and killed 4,519 people in the last five years. A few tendencies may be seen in the tremendous toll. One is a more violent climate, with heat waves becoming more powerful, storms causing more damage, and wildfires becoming more ferocious due to the combustion of fossil fuels.

"Climate change is also contributing to an increase in the frequency of some types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters," the authors wrote, "most notably the rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons in the Western states, and the potential for weighty rainfall becoming more common in the eastern states."

Living in Disaster Prone Areas

People increasingly reside in disaster-prone locations, which is another element pushing the damage tally. The population of coastal counties and the wildland-urban interface, where the forests meet settlements, has exploded. This combination has put people and infrastructure squarely in the path of climate change, ensuring that losses will continue to rise as the situation worsens.

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