Natural disasters hit global economy for $220bn in 2025: Swiss Re

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al Jazeera StaffDecember 16, 2025 at 01:44 PM
Natural disasters hit global economy for $220bn in 2025: Swiss Re

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In 2025, natural disasters caused $220 billion in global economic losses, according to a preliminary estimate by Swiss Re. Despite this significant impact, the losses represent a 33% decrease compared to the $327 billion in losses experienced the previous year. Insured losses totaled $107 billion, down 24% from 2024. A major contributor to insured losses was the Los Angeles wildfires in January, which caused $40 billion in insured losses, making it the costliest wildfire to date. While insured losses from storms reached $50 billion, the North Atlantic hurricane season was less severe, with no hurricanes making landfall on the US coast for the first time in 10 years. Hurricane Melissa, which impacted Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, was the costliest storm of the year, with insured losses estimated at $2.5 billion.

Keywords

natural disasters 100% economic losses 90% insured losses 80% wildfires 70% hurricanes 70% swiss re 60% global economy 50% north atlantic 40%

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