Scientists warn about America's ongoing billion-dollar issue: '[It's] causing the most harmful effects'

Last year ranked as the fourth-most expensive and eighth-deadliest year on record for weather and climate events in the United States that caused damages exceeding one billion dollars. Only 2023 surpassed it in terms of costly extreme weather occurrences.

Two years prior, the U.S. had set a record with 28 extreme events resulting in at least $1 billion in damages each. The year 2024 nearly matched that level, according to an updated report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Among the most destructive events was Hurricane Helene, which inflicted severe damage and significantly affected numerous communities. The Category 4 hurricane struck Floridas Big Bend region with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour near Perry, Florida. It later caused devastating flooding across the southern Appalachian Mountains, with western North Carolina suffering major impacts. Helene claimed 219 lives and caused nearly $80 billion in damages, making it the deadliest and costliest billion-dollar disaster of 2024.

Helene was one of five tropical cyclones included in the NCEIs list of billion-dollar disasters. Overall, 27 events made the list, including six tornado outbreaks and 11 severe weather or hail incidents. According to NCEI, these disasters collectively resulted in at least 568 direct or indirect fatalities, marking the eighth-highest total for billion-dollar disasters over the last 45 years (19802024), with cumulative costs around $182.7 billion.

The growing frequency of such disasters is alarming. Since 1980, NOAA has tracked 403 billion-dollar weather and climate events in the U.S., causing over $2.915 trillion in total damages. The first half of 2025 continued this trend, with 14 separate billion-dollar disasters in the first six months, totaling $101.4 billion in damages.

The years first disaster was also the most expensive: Januarys Los Angeles wildfires, which became the costliest wildfire on record, indirectly claiming 400 lives and causing over $61 billion in damage.

The rise in billion-dollar disasters underscores the intensified impact of climate change on extreme weather. Researchers from non-profit Climate Central note that the average number of these disasters per year has increased from roughly three in the 1980s to 19 annually over the last decade. Inflation-adjusted costs have quadrupled, from $22.6 billion per year in the 1980s to $102 billion per year in the 2010s.

Efforts to reduce the frequency and severity of such costly events focus on mitigating global warming. Measures such as installing solar panels, upgrading HVAC systems to heat pumps, and using tankless water heaters can reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, helping curb the financial and human toll of extreme weather.

Author: Benjamin Carter