According to Munich Re, the major catastrophes in 2010 are further evidence of the effects of advancing climate change. Around 950 natural disasters were recorded last year, nine-tenths of which were weather events like storms, floods and heat waves.
This is the second highest number of natural disasters recorded since 1980 and is 21 percent higher than the average number of incidents recorded annually over the past decade.
The report placed 2010 as among the sixth most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980. The cost to both lives and livelihood was gloomy – more than 295,000 died as a direct result of natural disasters while overall losses reached $130 billion, of which only $37 billion was insured.
While earthquakes, a phenomenon not linked to climate change, were found accountable for most of the deaths, Munich Re and other experts believe that the increased incidence of flooding, storms, droughts and heat waves likely to be the direct result of climate change contributed heavily to losses.
Most catastrophes occurred on the American continent and in Asia, with 365 and 310 incidents respectively. One-hundred twenty natural catastrophes were recorded in Europe, 90 in Africa and 65 in Australia.
North and South America accounted for the largest portion of insured losses, namely around 66 percent.
The most expensive single event was winter storm Xynthia which caused overall losses of $6.1 billion, mainly in Spain and France. In total, the share of insured losses in Europe was very high, totaling $3.1 billion.
The report highlighted losses arising from floods in Pakistan which reached $9.5 billion, leaving up to one-quarter of the country flooded for weeks.
Extensive damage also resulted from a heat wave in Russia and neighboring countries between July and September.
With temperatures reaching as high as 30°Celsius for two months, at least 56,000 people died as a result of heat waves. This death toll makes the heat wave the deadliest natural disaster in Russia’s history, according to the report.
Severe hurricane seasons
While the North Atlantic was not hit by a single hurricane last year, the report revealed that the overall weather pattern was benign only at first glance.
The region “luckily escaped” one of the severest hurricane seasons of the past 100 years in terms of hurricane strength and numbers with 19 named tropical cyclones, putting 2010 in third place after 2005 and 1933.
In addition, water temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic were up to 2°Celsius above the long-term average at the start of the 2010 hurricane season.
«That is in line with the trend of the past 30 years, in which all ocean basins show an increase in water temperatures,» said Prof. Peter Höppe, Munich Re’s geo risks research head.
«This long-term trend can no longer be explained by natural climate oscillations alone. No, the probability is that climate change is contributing to some of the warming of the world’s oceans. This influence will increase further and, together with the continuing natural warm phase in the North Atlantic, is likely to mean a further high level of hurricane activity in the coming years,» Mr. Höppe said.
Torsten Jeworrek, Munich Re’s chief executive, insists that business and political leaders should step up efforts to manage growing climate risks, with catastrophes recorded in 2010 showing what they will have to cope with.
«The severe earthquakes and the hurricane season with so many storms demonstrate once again that there must be no slackening of our efforts to analyze these risks in detail and provide the necessary insurance covers at adequate prices,» he said.
