Destructive hurricanes, sweltering heat waves: Extreme weather events cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars this year
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Climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe with expensive and deadly consequences. Extreme weather events in 2024 will ultimately cost Americans more than $500 billion in total damage, according to a new estimate from AccuWeather.
![[Firefighters rescue a couple after their car got stuck in deep floodwaters last month in Windsor, California. The state has been hammered by multiple atmospheric river storms this year]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/26/20/GettyImages-2186365015.jpg)
“We witnessed a historic year of extreme weather in America. Hurricanes, floods, damaging windstorms, large hail and tornadoes devastated communities across the country,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement. “This was one of the most destructive and expensive hurricane seasons in modern history.”.
![[David and Bo Hester inspect the area after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, last September. Helene ravaged mountainous communities in western North Carolina]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/26/21/GettyImages-2174219175.jpg)
“The impacts of extreme weather have taken a major financial and emotional toll on millions of Americans this year. Unfortunately, this is a trend that we expect to further escalate in the coming decades. More and more people, businesses and communities are feeling the direct impacts and harm from extreme weather and climate change.”.
“Our world is getting warmer as we continue to burn fossil fuels around the globe. Temperatures will continue to rise if we continue emitting tons of greenhouse gases that are trapped in our atmosphere,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Climate Expert Brett Anderson said. “Higher air temperatures and warmer oceans are providing additional energy and moisture for storms. Warmer air can also hold more moisture, leading to more extreme rainfall rates and destructive flash flooding, which we have seen this year.”.
“The damage and economic loss from tornadoes, floods, hail, wildfires, and drought this year is mounting. The extreme weather of 2024 should be a further wake-up call for businesses, government leaders, emergency officials and the insurance industry to prepare for a future with more weather disasters, extreme temperatures, and unprecedented impacts,” said Porter.
