10 most costly climate change-related disasters in 2022 revealed

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2 years ago

December 27, 2022

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Droughts, floods, storms and hurricanes were among the most costly climate change-related disasters during 2022, according to a new report.

The report by Christian Aid found that the 10 most expensive events in terms of insured losses ranged in cost from $3bn to $100bn, although the figures are only estimates, so the true expense could be much higher.

Here are the 10 most costly disasters of the year:

Hurricane Ian – $100bn

Ian was a Category 4 hurricane that caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast of the US. Over seven days in late September, it killed at least 150 people and made 40,000 homeless.

European drought – $20bn

The drought in the summer of 2022 was widely acknowledged to be the continent’s worst in 500 years, affecting food and energy production, water availability and wildlife. It also fuelled wildfires, crop losses and caused more than 20,000 excess deaths.

Flooding in China – $12.3bn

In June, southern China saw its heaviest rainfall since 1961, bringing floods and landslides and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.

Drought in China – $8.4bn

Late in August, China experienced its hottest and driest summer since records began in 1961, with more than 70 days of extreme temperatures and low rainfall badly affecting the basin of the Yangtze river, which supports more than 450 million people and a third of the country’s crops.

Flooding in eastern Australia – $7.5bn

From late February through March, eastern Australian states experienced flooding that killed 27 people and displaced 60,000. Several towns in northern New South Wales, for example, had a month’s worth of rain in just six hours – and this happened while they were still struggling to recover from record flooding the month before.

Pakistan floods – $5.6bn

From mid-June into September, flooding killed more than 1,700 people and displaced seven million in Pakistan. The flooding was worse because it came after a summer of record-breaking heat – meaning the ground was to dry to absorb the water.

Storm Eunice – $4.3bn

Over five days in February, Storm Eunice caused devastation across Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland and the UK. Seven people were killed.

In the UK gusts of 122mph were recorded – the strongest winds in more than 30 years.

Drought in Brazil – $4bn

Brazil has been in drought for most of the year – a drought that is thought to be the worst in decades. The low level of the Amazon River is a particular concern.

Hurricane Fiona – $3bn

Hurricane Fiona hit the Caribbean and Canada in the later part of September, killing more than 25 people and making 13,000 homeless.

At least four international airports were shut down, roads were closed and a number of communities were cut off.

KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape floods, South Africa – $3.0bn

Over a week in April, 459 people were killed and more than 40,000 had to leave their homes. Water services were shut down and Durban, one of South Africa’s busiest ports, was disrupted.

The report will reignite the debate about who should pay for a ‘climate catastrophe’, with many of the disasters happening in parts of the world that are the least to blame for climate change.

There was some progress on this issue at global climate negotiations at COP27 in Egypt in November, where countries landed a historic pact to set up a fund for climate damages.

But the details of where the money comes from and who gets it are still to be agreed.

Christian Aid’s chief executive Patrick Watt said the figures in the report point to “the financial cost of inaction on the climate crisis”.

The human cost of the spiralling crisis “is seen in the homes washed away by floods, loved ones killed by storms and livelihoods destroyed by drought”, he added.

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UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

Published

6 hours ago

May 24, 2025

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UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

World

’12 people’ injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station – as woman arrested

Published

9 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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'12 people' injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station - as woman arrested

A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.

An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.

They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.

Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.

A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.

Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.

Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

World

Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I lost my husband… I don’t want to lose her’

Published

13 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says 'I lost my husband... I don't want to lose her'

In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.

Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing

Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.

But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.

Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns

“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.

“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.

“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.

At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.

Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.

The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.

Children are the worst affected.

Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.

Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Lethal spiral

Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.

Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.

It’s a lethal spiral.

“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.

“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”

“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.

“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”

Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.

The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.

Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.