Climate Crisis

The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the Nation's Scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events in their historical perspective. As part of its responsibility of monitoring and assessing the climate, NCEI tracks and evaluates climate events in the U.S. and globally that have great economic and societal impacts. NCEI is frequently called upon to provide summaries of global and U.S. temperature and precipitation trends, extremes, and comparisons in their historical perspective. Found here are the weather and climate events that have had the greatest economic impact from 1980 to 2023.

Increasing trend of high-cost disasters: exposure, vulnerability, and climate change

Over the last seven years (2017-2023), 137 separate billion-dollar disasters have killed at least 5,500 people and cost >$1 trillion in damage. One of the drivers of this cost is that the U.S. has been impacted by landfalling Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in five of the last seven years, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, Laura, Ida, and Ian. 

In broader context, the total cost of U.S. billion-dollar disasters over the last 5 years (2019-2023) is $603.1 billion, with a 5-year annual cost average of $120.6 billion, the latter of which is more than double the 44-year inflation-adjusted annual average cost. The U.S. billion-dollar disaster damage costs over the last 10-years (2014-2023) were also historically large: at least $1.2 trillion from 173 separate billion-dollar events.

The number and cost of weather and climate disasters are increasing in the United States due to a combination of increased exposure (i.e., more assets at risk), vulnerability (i.e., how much damage a hazard of given intensity—wind speed, or flood depth, for example—causes at a location), and the fact that climate change is increasing the frequency of some types of extremes that lead to billion-dollar disasters (Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment (2023).

Compound Extremes

The increase in disasters creates 'compound extremes' (e.g., billion-dollar disaster events that occur at the same time or in sequence), which are also an increasing problem for recovery. As noted in the recent Fifth National Climate Assessment (2023), "climate change is also increasing the risk of multiple extremes occurring simultaneously in different locations that are connected by complex human and natural systems. For instance, simultaneous megafires across multiple western states and record back-to-back Atlantic hurricanes in 2020 caused unprecedented demand on federal emergency response resources."

Other examples include multiple hurricane landfalls (Hurricanes Ian and Nicole) in Florida within a span of several weeks in 2022. And most recently, in 2023, when Central states were impacted by back-to-back severe storm outbreaks compounding the disaster recovery process.

Over the last six years (2018-2022), there were just 18 days on average between billion-dollar disasters compared to 82 days in the 1980s. Shorter time intervals between disasters often mean less time and resources available to respond, recover and prepare for future events. This increased frequency of events produces cascading impacts that are particularly challenging for vulnerable socioeconomic populations.

The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) has released the final update to its 2023 Billion-dollar disaster report, confirming a historic year in the number of costly disasters and extremes throughout much of the country. There were 28 weather and climate disasters in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 22 in 2020, tallying a price tag of at least $92.9 billion. This total annual cost may rise by several billion when we’ve fully accounted for the costs of the December 16-18 East Coast storm and flooding event that impacted states from Florida to Maine.

2023 Highlights

In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least 1 billion dollars. That number puts 2023 into first place for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year and included:

• 1 winter storm/cold wave event (across the northeast U.S. in early-February).
• 1 wildfire event (firestorm destroying town of Lahaina on Maui Island of Hawaii).
• 1 drought and heat wave event (focused across the central and southern U.S.).
• 4 flooding events (in California, Florida, and across the eastern and northeastern U.S.).
• 2 tornado outbreaks (across the central and eastern U.S.).
• 2 tropical cyclones (Idalia in Florida and Typhoon Mawar in Guam).
• 17 severe weather/hail events (across many parts of the country). 

2023 was also deadly, causing at least 492 direct or indirect fatalities—the 8^th most disaster-related fatalities for the contiguous U.S. since 1980.

Damages from the 2023 disasters totaled $92.9 billion. (All cost estimates are adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index, 2023). The costliest 2023 events were the Southern / Midwestern Drought and Heat Wave ($14.5 billion) and the Southern and Eastern Severe Weather in early March ($6.0 billion). Adding the 2023 events to the record that began in 1980, the U.S. has sustained 376 weather and climate disasters with the overall damage costs reaching or exceeding $1 billion. The cumulative cost for these 376 events exceeds $2.660 trillion.

2023 Costs in Historical Context

As with all years of the 2020s decade, 2023 was another very active year, featuring a high frequency, high cost, and large diversity of extreme events that affect people's lives and livelihoods. 2023 (red line) is the fourth consecutive year (2020-2023) in which 18 or more separate billion-dollar disaster events have impacted the U.S., marking a consistent pattern that is becoming the new normal. The 1980–2023 annual average (black line) is 8.5 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2019–2023) is 20.4 events (CPI-adjusted).

2022 Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters

In 2022, the U.S. experienced 18 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least 1 billion dollars. That number puts 2022 into a three-way tie with 2017 and 2011 for the third-highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year, behind the 22 events in 2020 and the 20 events in 2021. It was another year with a high diversity of destructive disasters:

• 1 winter storm/cold wave event (across the central and eastern U.S.).
• 1 wildfire event (wildfires across the western U.S. including Alaska).
• 1 drought and heat wave event (across the western and central U.S.).
• 1 flooding event (in Missouri and Kentucky).
• 2 tornado outbreaks (across the southern and southeastern U.S.).
• 3 tropical cyclones (Fiona, Ian and Nicole).
• 9 severe weather/hail events (across many parts of the country, including a derecho in the central U.S). 

2022 was also deadly, in that the 18 events of 2022 caused at least 474 direct or indirect fatalities—the 8^th most disaster-related fatalities for the contiguous U.S. since 1980.

Damages from the 2022 disasters totaled $165.1 billion. (All cost estimates are adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index, 2022). The costliest 2022 events were Hurricane Ian ($112.9 billion) and the Western and Central Drought / Heat Wave ($22.1 billion). Adding the 2022 events to the record that began in 1980, the U.S. has sustained 341 weather and climate disasters with the overall damage costs reaching or exceeding $1 billion. The cumulative cost for these 341 events exceeds $2.475 trillion.