The aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Manasota Key, Florida, in the US in October 2024. Analysis of insurance payouts by Christian Aid reveals three-quarters of financial destruction occurred in US The world’s 10 most costly climate disasters of 2024 caused $229bn in damages and killed 2,000 people, the latest annual analysis of insurance payouts has revealed. Three-quarters of the financial destruction occurred in the world’s biggest economy, the US, where climate denier Donald Trump will become president next month. For the first time since the ranking was first compiled in 2018, there were two storms in a single year responsible for more than $50bn of losses: the hurricanes Helene and Milton that battered the US in September and October. Released at the end of what is almost certain to be another record-breaking year for global heat, the top 10 also included Typhoon Yagi in south-east Asia , which killed at least 829 people and wreaked $12.6bn of economic havoc; Storm Boris in Europe, which killed at least 26 and caused $5bn of losses; and the devastating floods in southern China, Bavaria, Valencia and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. The rising financial impact of human-caused climate disruption was apparent in another first: all of the top 10 disasters racked up bills of more than $4bn. In every case, climate scientists calculated how much more likely the catastrophes were made by the burning of fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and coal. Dr Mariam Zachariah, a world weather attribution researcher at Imperial College London, said: “Most of these disasters show clear fingerprints of climate change. Extreme weather is clearly causing incredible suffering in all corners of the world. “This report is just a snapshot of climate devastation in 2024. There are many more droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and floods not included […]