2010 Nat Cats, Disasters Cost $218 Bn – $43 Bn Insured; Says Swiss Re
According to Swiss Re’s latest sigma study, worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $218 billion in 2010, more than triple the 2009 figure of $68 billion. The...
View ArticleLloyd’s: Drought Caused Subsidence Costliest Natural Hazard in Parts of Europe
An article on the Lloyd’s web site notes that “news reports on climate change have focused on dire predictions of more hurricanes and increasing flooding due to rising sea levels. But subsidence caused...
View ArticleSurvey Finds Africa, Asia Cities Most at Risk from Global Climate Change
Countries and megacities in Africa and Asia are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change over the coming years, a global survey shows, underscoring the risks from floods, rising sea...
View ArticleHealth Costs of U.S. Climate Disasters of Last Decade: $14 Billion
Deaths and health problems from floods, drought and other U.S. disasters related to climate change cost an estimated $14 billion over the last decade, researchers said Monday. “When extreme weather...
View ArticleReuters Analyst Warns World Must Keep Focus on Climate Risk
Gerard Wynn, a Reuters market analyst, has expressed his own views on the necessity of continuing to deal with the challenges presented by extreme weather and its global impact. Rising temperatures are...
View ArticleInsurers Worry 2012 Will Top 2011 for Record Weather Disasters
From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to...
View ArticleU.S. Intelligence Report Sees Global Water Conflict Risks Rising
Fresh water supplies are unlikely to keep up with global demand by 2040, increasing political instability, hobbling economic growth and endangering world food markets, according to a U.S. intelligence...
View ArticleLloyd’s Details ‘Growing Impact of Climate Change’ as UN Meets
Lloyd’s has published a roundup of the environmental issues inherent in as the world grows warmer. The recently concluded Rio +20 Conference was an attempt – 20 years after the first conference – “to...
View ArticleWeather Forecasters Say El Nino Could Return in Q3
The feared El Nino weather phenomenon could strike as early as the third quarter of 2012, raising prospects of wreaking weather havoc from North and South America to Asia, the U.S. Climate Prediction...
View ArticleEl Nino Indicators Ease; Still Expected in Late 2012
Climate indicators for an El Niño event in the western Pacific have eased slightly in the past two weeks, but meteorologists still expect the weather pattern, which can bring drought to the...
View ArticleHeat Waves Need ‘Re-purposed’ Climate Research: Reuters Gerard Wynn
A major heat wave and drought has sent world grain prices sky rocketing for a second of three summers suggesting it is time to address supply through re-purposed climate research. Tackling high food...
View ArticleEvidence for Climate Extremes, Costs, Gets More Local
Scientists are finding evidence that man-made climate change has raised the risks of individual weather events, such as floods or heat waves, marking a big step towards pinpointing local costs and ways...
View ArticleClimate Change Poses Risks to Food Supplies Beyond U.S. Drought
Downpours and heat waves caused by climate change could disrupt food supplies from the fields to the supermarkets, raising the risk of more price spikes such as this year’s leap triggered by drought in...
View ArticleEl Nino Seen Having ‘Modest Impact’ on Australia
An emerging El Nino weather pattern is likely to have only a modest impact on crops and mining in Australia and could benefit sugar cane growers in Queensland, a senior forecaster said. Drier...
View ArticleIsaac Brings Relief to U.S. Drought Conditions
The remnants of Hurricane Isaac continue to cause headaches on Friday, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents get ready to...
View ArticleCPC Forecasts Weak El Niño for Northern Hemisphere Winter
The U.S. national weather forecaster still expects the much-feared El Niño phenomenon, which can wreak havoc on global weather, to remain weak into the Northern Hemisphere winter, even after its...
View ArticleScientists Want Montana Climate Office Reopened To Help Farmers
State officials should approve and provide money to reopen a state climate office because new technologies could help crop producers track global competition as well as offer other advantages,...
View ArticleReport Questions Insurer Readiness, Attitudes on Climate Change
A report out Thursday that details responses to a climate change survey from insurers doing business in California, Washington and New York shows many insurers are prepared to deal with today’s extreme...
View ArticleRains Wash Away U.S. Drought, Shifting Farm Economy’s Prospects
Torrential downpours across a broad swath of the U.S. Midwest this week are easing the worst drought in more than 50 years, flooding streams, snarling river transportation, stalling corn plantings –...
View ArticleUN: $2.5 Trillion in Global Disaster Losses Since 2000
Economic losses from disasters since 2000 are in the range of $2.5 trillion, a figure at least 50 percent higher than previous international estimates, according to a U.N. report. The U.N. Office for...
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