NOAA Reports $173 Trillion in U.S. Natural Disaster Damages Last Year... Intensifying Weather Anomalies

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the United States, various natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, and cold waves caused property damage amounting to $145 billion (approximately 173.4 trillion KRW) and nearly 700 casualties last year. As climate anomalies due to global warming intensify, concerns are growing that damage from natural disasters will increase further in the future.

On the 11th (local time), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the scale of damage caused by natural disasters in the U.S. last year reached $145 billion, a more than 53% increase compared to $95 billion the previous year. According to NOAA, there were 20 disasters last year that caused losses exceeding $1 billion each, resulting in massive damage.

Last year in the U.S., climate anomalies such as persistent wildfires and heatwaves in the western region, sudden cold waves in Texas, and tornadoes that struck the central U.S. last month occurred frequently. The resulting casualties were also counted at 688. The cost incurred from disasters over the past five years reached $742 billion, marking a record high.

The main cause of these climate anomalies is attributed to global warming. Last year was especially the fourth warmest year in 127 years in the U.S., with an average temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees higher than the 20th-century average. Dr. Adam Smith, a climatologist at NOAA, warned in an interview with Bloomberg News, "Climate change has caused disasters akin to firing a shotgun across the entire United States," adding, "No region in the U.S. is free from the impacts of climate change."

According to a preliminary analysis by the Rhodium Group, an independent research organization tracking greenhouse gas emissions, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased by 6.2% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Although this level is 5% lower than in 2019 before the pandemic, if this trend continues, there are concerns that the U.S. will not meet its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Research results released the day before by the European Union (EU) Copernicus Climate Change Service also showed that the past seven years have been the warmest period in Earth's history. The year 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record, with the warmest years being 2020 and 2016.

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