(Finance) – At a global level, the natural disasters in 2023 they provoked losses of around 250 billion dollars (a figure in line with the previous year), with insured losses of $95 billion ($125 billion in 2022). Overall losses match the five-year average, while insured losses are slightly below the average of $105 billion. Unlike previous years, there have been no mega-disasters causing increased damage in industrialized countries (such as Hurricane Ian in 2022, which caused overall damages of $100 billion and insured losses of $60 billion ). The damage statistics were instead characterized by the large number of strong regional storms. Such high damages have never been recorded before in the USA and Europe: in North America assets worth around 66 billion dollars were destroyed, of which 50 billion were insured, while in Europe the figure amounted to 10 billion dollars ( 9.1 billion euros), of which 8 billion dollars (7.3 billion euros) insured. Numerous scientific research indicates that climate change favors adverse weather conditions with strong hailstorms. Likewise, storm loss statistics in North America and other regions are trending upward. This is what emerges from a report published by the reinsurance company Munich Re. The number of deaths caused by natural disasters rose to 74 thousand in 2023, well above the annual average of the last five years (10 thousand). In 2023, approximately 63,000 people (85% of the year’s total victims) lost their lives to earthquakes, more than at any time since 2010. In contrast, the economic losses due to natural disasters were dominated by severe storms: 76% of the overall losses were related to weather conditions, while 24% had geophysical causes.
Global temperature set to break record – Weather disasters were made worse by extremely high temperatures. Worldwide, average temperatures through November were about 1.3°C higher than in pre-industrial times (1850-1900). The El Niño phenomenon, a natural climate oscillation in the North Pacific with extreme weather effects in many regions of the world, has played a role in rising temperatures. However, researchers attribute the trend towards warmer global temperatures primarily to climate change, with natural fluctuations playing a subordinate role. In 2023, seasonal temperature records were broken one after another. Spring temperatures above 40°C were recorded in southwestern Europe (April) and Argentina (September), temperatures above 50°C in northwestern China, and night temperatures above 32°C in the US state of Arizona in July. Large fires have occurred in many regions due to heat waves and drought. In Canada, fires raged for several weeks, destroying 18.5 million hectares of forest, an amount never seen before. However, the fires did not reach any major cities or industrial plants, so Canada avoided another fire like the one in Fort McMurray in 2016 (damage at the time: $4.1 billion, of which $2.9 billion was insured) .
The most expensive events of the year – The series earthquakes occurred in southeastern Turkey and Syria in February it was the most destructive natural disaster of the year. The most serious earthquake, of magnitude 7.8, was the strongest earthquake to occur in Turkey in recent decades. It caused the death of 58 thousand people, the collapse of countless buildings and significant damage to infrastructure. With overall losses of around $50 billion, it was also the costliest natural disaster of the year. Although earthquake insurance for residential buildings is mandatory in Turkey (Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool, TCIP), the insured losses amount to only $5.5 billion. In terms of overall losses, the second costliest natural disaster was typhoon Doksuri. In July, the storm swept the coast of the Philippines before making landfall in Jinjiang, Fujian province on the Chinese mainland, with wind speeds of around 180 km/h. Doksuri was accompanied by extremely heavy rainfall that resulted in destructive floods. In some parts of China, 600 mm of rain fell in one day, the heaviest daily rainfall ever recorded in the country. Overall damages amount to about $25 billion, of which only about $2 billion is insured – an example of the large natural disaster insurance gap that persists in China. Another exceptional event was the rapid intensification ofHurricane Otis on the west coast of Mexico in October: ??In the space of twenty-four hours it transformed from a weak tropical storm into a major hurricane. It landed directly in the tourist resort of Acapulco and devastated the city. With winds of up to 165 mph, it was the most violent storm to ever hit Mexico’s Pacific coast. Due to the high concentration of hotels in the city, overall losses are estimated at $12 billion, while insured losses amount to approximately $4 billion. It was the third costliest loss of the year in terms of overall losses. Doksuri and Otis fall into the pattern that scientists expect as a result of climate change, namely a shift towards more intense storms and storms with extreme precipitation. Experts also attribute the more frequently observed rapid intensification of tropical storms to climate change.