
The 10 worst climate-linked disasters of 2018 caused at least £50bn worth of damage, a study has found.
Extreme weather driven by climate change hit every populated continent this year, Christian Aid said, warning urgent action was needed to combat global warming.
“This report shows that for many people, climate change is having devastating impacts on their lives and livelihoods right now,” said Kat Kramer, who heads the British relief organisation’s work on climate issues, in a statement.
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Experts say a warming world will lead to sweltering heatwaves, more extreme rainfall, shrinking harvests and worsening water shortages, causing both monetary losses and human misery.
Almost 200 nations are aiming to limit the rise in average world temperatures under the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, though some warn progress to meet targets has been slow.
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Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier near Tasiilaq
Reuters
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Safety officer Brian Rougeux works with student Febin Magar to assemble a radar dome while working in a science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
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Airplane Mechanic, David Fuller, left, works with a local worker to move a Nasa Gulfstream III during a pre-flight inspection before a flight to support the Oceans Melting Greenland research mission
Reuters
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Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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Earth Science Flight Programs Director at Nasa, Eric Ianson, looks out at the Greenland ice sheet
Reuters
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Glacial ice is seen from the window during the Nasa flight
Reuters
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Oceanographer David Holland’s science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
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A large crevasse forms near the calving front of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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Safety officer Brian Rougeux uses a drill to install antennas for scientific instruments that will be left on top of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event at the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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Radar Engineer, Ron Muellerschoen, monitors data collection inside a NASA Gulfstream III flying above Greenland to measure loss to the country’s ice sheet
Reuters
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GPS tracking equipment is left on top of the Helheim glacier
REUTERS
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Sunshine lights up the Helheim glacier
Reuters
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A glacial terminus above the east coast of Greenland
REUTERS
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Student Febin Magar watches as leftover wood burns in a research camp
Reuters
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Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event
Reuters
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Oceanographer David Holland repairs a broken GPS module at his research camp
Reuters
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An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
1/20
Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier near Tasiilaq
Reuters
2/20
Safety officer Brian Rougeux works with student Febin Magar to assemble a radar dome while working in a science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
3/20
An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
4/20
Airplane Mechanic, David Fuller, left, works with a local worker to move a Nasa Gulfstream III during a pre-flight inspection before a flight to support the Oceans Melting Greenland research mission
Reuters
5/20
Meltwater pools on top of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
6/20
Earth Science Flight Programs Director at Nasa, Eric Ianson, looks out at the Greenland ice sheet
Reuters
7/20
Glacial ice is seen from the window during the Nasa flight
Reuters
8/20
Oceanographer David Holland’s science camp on the side of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
9/20
An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
10/20
A large crevasse forms near the calving front of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
11/20
Safety officer Brian Rougeux uses a drill to install antennas for scientific instruments that will be left on top of the Helheim glacier
Reuters
12/20
Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event at the Helheim glacier
Reuters
13/20
Radar Engineer, Ron Muellerschoen, monitors data collection inside a NASA Gulfstream III flying above Greenland to measure loss to the country’s ice sheet
Reuters
14/20
GPS tracking equipment is left on top of the Helheim glacier
REUTERS
15/20
Sunshine lights up the Helheim glacier
Reuters
16/20
A glacial terminus above the east coast of Greenland
REUTERS
17/20
Student Febin Magar watches as leftover wood burns in a research camp
Reuters
18/20
Tabular icebergs float in the Sermilik Fjord after a large calving event
Reuters
19/20
Oceanographer David Holland repairs a broken GPS module at his research camp
Reuters
20/20
An iceberg floats in a fjord near the town of Tasiilaq
Reuters
The 20 warmest years on record have been within the last 22 years, the United Nations said last month, with 2018 on track to be the fourth hottest.
The most expensive climate-linked weather events of 2018 were Hurricanes Florence and Michael, which caused at least £18.5bn worth of damage as they slammed into the United States, the Caribbean and parts of central America, the report said.
The United States also suffered at least £5.2bn of losses from wildfires that caused dozens of deaths and destroyed thousands of homes in California.
Japan was badly hit by severe floods over the summer, followed by the powerful Typhoon Jebi in autumn, which together caused more than $4.3bn in damages, said the report.
It also cited droughts in Europe, floods in southern India and Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines and China among the most expensive climate-linked disasters of 2018.
The authors collated total costs using data from sources including governments, banks and insurance firms, though in some cases the figures only covered insured losses and also failed to take account of the human costs of such events.
They added that rising temperatures would continue to drive extreme weather events as they urged action to prevent further global warming which would impact the poorest and most vulnerable communities hardest.
“The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle,” said Michael Mann, professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University, in a statement on the study.
“The world’s weather is becoming more extreme before our eyes – the only thing that can stop this destructive trend from escalating is a rapid fall in carbon emissions.”
Additional reporting by Thompson Reuters Foundation
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