2025 One of Costliest Years for Climate Disasters: Report

The top-10 costliest climate disasters include wildfires, cyclones, extreme rainfall and flooding, and droughts spanning four continents. Together, they resulted in economic losses of $120 billion.

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Record-breaking heatwaves, tropical cyclones, and rainfall made 2025 one of the costliest years for climate disasters, according to a new report.

Carried out by Christian Aid and published Saturday, the report looked at this year’s costliest climate disasters worldwide, based primarily on loss estimates by insurance company Aon. The top-10 list includes wildfires, cyclones, extreme rainfall and flooding, and droughts spanning four continents. Together, they resulted in economic losses of $120 billion.

Topping the ranking are January’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires. 31 direct deaths were recorded, although an August study found that another 400 people had died from factors linked to the fires, including poor air quality and delays in accessing healthcare. Researchers said climate change fueled the fires, which racked up more than $60 billion in damages.

Scientists also linked climate change to the deadly storms and floods that killed more than 1,800 people across several South and Southeast Asian nations in late November. Triggered by two overlapping tropical cyclones hitting Indonesia’s Sumatra region and Peninsular Malaysia simultaneously, the floods racked up some $25 billion in damages, making it the second most expensive climate disaster on Christian Aid’s list. It was also one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in recent history, hitting one of the most climate vulnerable regions on Earth.

Flooding events in China, India and Pakistan, and Texas also figures on the list, as well as four tropical cyclones – the costliest being Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense at landfall in the Atlantic basin, resulting in estimated economic losses of more than $8 billion.

Losses that are difficult to quantify, such as damages to livelihoods, lost income, long-term damage to the environment, and permanent displacement of residents, were not taken into account in Christian Aid’s analysis. For this reason, the charity said, “the true toll of disasters is almost certainly far higher than the
insured losses suggested.”

Hottest Decade

Global warming, caused primarily from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, has led to an increase in both the frequency and intensity of some extreme weather events since pre-industrial times, including flooding, extreme rainfall and storms, and droughts.

Coinciding with the relentless rise in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, the past 10 years have been the hottest on record. 2024 now tops the ranking, with 2025 set to be the second- or third-warmest on record and 2026 expected to make the top four.

Featured image: CAL FIRE_Official/Flickr.