By Stuti Mishra

 

LONDON, 27 Dec. - (ANA) - Climate disasters cost the world more than $120bn (£95bn) in 2025, with the true toll is far higher as the deadliest events in poorer countries were largely uninsured and undercounted, a new analysis has found.

 

The review of extreme weather events this year shows that Asia accounted for four of the six most expensive climate disasters of 2025. Many of the deadliest disasters elsewhere did not feature among the costliest events because financial losses were not insured.

 

The analysis, carried out by charity Christian Aid, identified 10 climate-related disasters that each caused more than $1bn (£790m) in damage, with combined losses exceeding $122bn (£96bn). Most of the figures are based on insured losses, which tend to be highest in wealthier countries with high property values and more widespread insurance coverage.

 

In the United States, wildfires in California caused more than $60bn (£47bn) in damage and were linked to more than 400 deaths, making them the single costliest disaster of the year. Asia, however, dominated the list overall.

 

Cyclones and flooding across south and south-east Asia in November caused an estimated $25bn (£20bn) in damage and killed more than 1,750 people across Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia.

 

Flooding in China caused $11.7bn (£9.2bn) in losses and killed at least 30 people, while floods and landslides across India and Pakistan killed more than 1,860 people and affected millions.

 

Typhoons in the Philippines caused more than $5bn (£4bn) in damage and displaced over 1.4 million people.

 

In many poorer countries, disasters with severe human consequences did not appear in global cost rankings at all. Flooding in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo killed hundreds of people, while a prolonged drought across Iran and West Asia has left up to 10 million people in Tehran facing the prospect of evacuation because of water shortages.

 

“While wealthy nations count the financial cost of disasters, millions of people across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean are counting lost lives, homes and futures,” said Mohamed Adow, director of the Nairobi-based climate think tank Power Shift Africa.

 

“These disasters are not ‘natural’ – they are the inevitable result of continued fossil fuel expansion and political delay,” said Joanna Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London. “While the costs run into the billions, the heaviest burden falls on communities with the least resources to recover.”

 

The findings come after the EU’s climate and space agency Copernicus said this month that 2025 is set to be the world's second or third-warmest on record, potentially surpassed only by 2024's record-breaking heat.

 

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the last 10 years have been the 10 warmest years since records began.

 

At the same time, global emissions have continued to rise, driven largely by the burning of coal, oil and gas, even as renewable energy capacity has expanded rapidly.

 

That additional heat is intensifying extreme weather, according to scientists. Most of the major disasters this year were found to have been intensified due to the climate crisis. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, increasing the risk of heavier rainfall and flooding, while hotter and drier conditions are worsening heatwaves, droughts and wildfire seasons. Oceans have also remained unusually warm, contributing to stronger storms and widespread coral bleaching.

 

Wildfires across Spain and Portugal followed prolonged and record-breaking heat, while flooding across South Asia and China came after unusually intense monsoon rainfall. In Scotland, extreme temperatures fuelled wildfires in the highlands, burning more than 47,000 hectares.

 

Patrick Watt, chief executive of Christian Aid, said: “Violent storms, devastating floods and prolonged droughts are turning lives and livelihoods upside down. The poorest communities are first and worst affected.”

 

He added: “The suffering caused by the climate crisis is a political choice. It is being driven by decisions to continue burning fossil fuels, to allow emissions to rise, and to break promises on climate finance.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/27 December 2025 - - -