2025 Climate Disasters Cost $120 Billion in Insured Losses

Climate disasters in 2025 inflicted more than 120 billion dollars in insured losses worldwide, according to an annual report from the relief organization Christian Aid, marking a sharp escalation in the economic toll of extreme weather events driven by global warming.

The report identifies the ten most costly climate-related incidents of the year, each exceeding one billion dollars in damages. The most expensive was a pair of wildfires, the Palisades and Eaton blazes, that swept through California in January. These fires destroyed homes and businesses, causing 60 billion dollars in losses and resulting in more than 400 deaths. Officials in California noted that the state now faces wildfire risks year-round, with nine of its ten largest fires on record occurring in the past decade.

Ranking second was a series of cyclones combined with extreme monsoon rainfall and flooding that struck South and Southeast Asia in November, affecting Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia. The events led to over 1,750 deaths and 25 billion dollars in insured losses. In China, intense rainfall and flooding from June to August caused 11.7 billion dollars in damage and at least 30...