Country has experienced 23 extreme weather events costing $1bn or more already this year, passing previous mark of 22 in 2020
With four months of 2023 still left, the US has set a record for the most natural disasters in a single year that have cost $1bn or more, as fires, floods and ferocious winds were among deadly events experts warn are being turbo-charged by the climate crisis.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) announced on Monday that there have already been 23 extreme weather events in the US this year that have cost at least $1bn. The current figure surpasses the record of 22 such events set in 2020.
So far, the total cost of disasters in 2023 is more than $57.6bn, according to Noaa.
I would love to see people and local governments affected by some of these events to bring litigation against the oil and gas industry for covering up the dangers of their products.
As long as we let them privatize the profits while leaving the public with the costs, nothing will change.