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CLIMATEWIRE | Global losses from natural disasters eclipsed the long-term average in the first half of 2024, with thunderstorms causing more damage in the U.S. than hurricanes, wildfires, or other catastrophes.

An analysis from the reinsurance company Munich Re found that severe thunderstorms in the U.S. caused $45 billion in losses from January to June, $34 billion of which were insured. That makes 2024 the fourth-costliest thunderstorm year on record, based on the first six months.

Many of the losses were driven by tornadoes and hail spawned from the storms, the report notes.

North America accounted for $60 billion in losses — half of all damages worldwide. Globally, insured losses totaled $62 billion, compared with the 10-year average of $37 billion.

Thunderstorms may seem like small events compared with other kinds of disasters. Individually, they tend to cause less damage than earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and floods. But they also strike more frequently than many other severe weather events, and their damages add up over time.

A January report from Munich Re found that thunderstorm losses in Europe and North America broke records in 2023, causing damages totaling $76 billion and $58 billion in insured losses.

A report from another reinsurance company, Swiss Re, also warned last year that thunderstorm damage is growing worldwide. A high number of low- to medium-severity events occurred around the globe last year, causing more than $100 billion in losses. Thunderstorms were the main contributor.

“The cumulative effect of frequent, low-loss events, along with increasing property values and repair costs, has a big impact on an insurer’s profitability over a longer period,” said Jérôme Jean Haegeli, chief economist at Swiss Re, in a statement last year. “The high frequency of severe thunderstorms in 2023 has been an earnings test for the primary insurance industry.”

Studies show that climate change worsens thunderstorms around the world. That’s largely a matter of simple physics — a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, allowing for more intense rainfall events.

That doesn’t always translate to more frequent storms. In some places, the total number of thunderstorms might not change much — but the ones that do occur may grow stronger. Research already shows that extreme precipitation events have worsened across the U.S., according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment. A 2023 study also found that severe thunderstorm winds are affecting a larger area of the country over time.

Research also indicates that some regions could see an increase in the number of thunderstorms as temperatures continue to rise.

The rising risks of thunderstorms are taking a toll on the United States. According to NOAA, severe storms account for half of all the country’s billion-dollar disasters since 1980. And the number of billion-dollar thunderstorms is rising over time.

“Climate change entails evolving risks that everyone — society, the economy, and the insurance sector alike — will have to adapt to, so as to mitigate the growing losses from weather-related events,” said Thomas Blunck, member of Munich Re’s Board of Management, in a statement.

Disasters around the world

A variety of other disasters caused havoc around the world in the first half of 2024, Munich Re found.

Not all were climate-related. Earthquakes in Japan and Taiwan this year caused billions of dollars in losses each. The 7.3 magnitude event in Taiwan was the worst the region had experienced since 1999.

Floods caused the greatest losses elsewhere.

Heavy rainfall triggered severe floods and landslides in Brazil in April and May, amounting to $7 billion in total losses. Devastating floods also struck Germany in May, with the costliest event totaling $5 billion in damages.

Seasonal monsoon rains caused severe floods in East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Somalia earlier this year. And in May, tropical cyclones Hidaya and Ialy struck the same region, exacerbating previous destruction and killing hundreds, and displacing around half a million people.

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