23 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the US caused an estimated 276 fatalities and cost a total of $115 billion in damage last year, according to Climate Central.
—
The US was hit hard by climate and weather disasters in 2025, many of which cost billions of dollars in damage, as the climate crisis worsened.
23 weather and climate disasters in the US racked up damages of at least $1 billion (inflation-adjusted). Together, they claimed an estimated 276 lives and cost a total of $115 billion. They made for the third-highest year for billion-dollar disasters, after 2023 and 2024.
The data was compiled by Climate Central. The non-profit, which analyzes and reports on climate science, took over the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster dataset, run for decades by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before US President Donald Trump abruptly axed it last May. “[T]his dataset was simply too important to stop being updated,” said Adam Smith, Climate Central’s Senior Climate Impacts Scientist.
The database tracks the cost of climate change-fueled weather disasters such as floods, heatwaves, and wildfires, providing critical information to help first responders, the insurance industry, and researchers with their planning, recovery operations, and weather assessments.
The costliest disaster of the year were the LA wildfires in January. Damages exceeded $60 billion, a record-breaking amount for a wildfire and almost twice as much as the previous record. Researchers found that the hot, dry, and windy conditions that fuelled the LA fires were made about 35% more likely due to human-made warming.
The remaining billion-dollar disasters were severe weather such as storms, hail and tornadoes – several of which had impacts produced from flooding – and a drought affecting the western US.
More Frequent and Intense Extreme Weather Events
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. Since records began in 1980, the US has seen 426 billion-dollar disasters, with total costs exceeding $3.1 trillion.
2025 was also one of the costliest years for climate disasters globally. The 10 costliest disasters worldwide, including wildfires, cyclones, extreme rainfall and flooding, and droughts spanning four continents, resulted in economic losses of $120 billion.
Hottest Decade
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.
This story is funded by readers like you
Our non-profit newsroom provides climate coverage free of charge and advertising. Your one-off or monthly donations play a crucial role in supporting our operations, expanding our reach, and maintaining our editorial independence.
About EO | Mission Statement | Impact & Reach | Write for us
