Australia makes list of 2025’s costliest climate events
Australia’s devastating former tropical cyclone Alfred was among the world’s costliest disasters caused by climate change in 2025.
Economic losses caused by the severe storm that devastated south-east Queensland and northern NSW have so far: approximately $1.2 billion ($A1.8 billion).
The 10 most economically catastrophic events listed by the UK-based humanitarian aid organization Christian Aid had a total loss of more than $120 billion, each costing more than $1 billion.
The costliest extreme event affected by human-caused climate change was the Palisade and Eaton wildfires that ravaged suburban Los Angeles in January.
Economic losses from destroyed properties and other damages caused by the devastating fire exceeded $60 billion.
Other costly disasters include hurricanes in November that triggered devastating floods and landslides in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The cost of the tropical storms and extreme monsoon system was thought to be around US$25 billion, making it the second most expensive event of 2025.
The flood also claimed the lives of more than 1,750 people, making it one of the deadliest climate events of the year.
In China, excessive rainfall and floods in June and August were the third most costly event.
Cataloging extreme weather events is an annual initiative of the charity that aims to highlight the economic and human toll of a changing climate.
Economic loss calculations made by insurance giant Aon are used; Most estimates are based on insured losses, ignoring the full costs of lost income, environmental degradation and human displacement.
Growing research linking rising greenhouse gas emissions to specific weather events also informed the report.
In the wake of former tropical cyclone Alfred, the eighth-costliest disaster listed, ClimaMeter’s “rapid attribution study” found that the storm dumped more rain than it would without human-caused climate change.
The storm, which threatened to hit densely populated urban centers as a category four tropical cyclone before downgrading before landfall, owed much of its intensity and heavy rainfall to above-average ocean temperatures.
The researchers also noted that Alfred was moving further south than normal, triggering concerns that warmer ocean temperatures could lead to windstorms heading into new areas and settlements unprepared for them.
Scientists generally expect fewer hurricanes in a warming climate, but those that do form are likely to be more intense.
Davide Faranda, research director at the Laboratoire de Science du Climat et de l’Environnement, said the documented events were not isolated disasters or natural events.
“These are the predictable consequences of a warmer atmosphere and warmer oceans driven by decades of fossil fuel emissions,” he said.
Wealthy countries tend to rank higher in disaster cost rankings because they generally have higher real estate prices and residents are better able to afford insurance.
But the economies of poorer nations are often more affected by extreme climate change because they have fewer resources to respond.
Patrick Watt, chief executive of Christian Aid, said the findings underlined the urgent need for adaptation, particularly in the resource-constrained Global South.
“The poorest communities are hit first and worst,” he said.
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