El Niño News

Catastrophes Cost Insurers $22B in 1H 2017; Economic Losses Totaled $53B: Aon

Global insured losses from natural disasters during the first half of 2017 are estimated at US$22 billion with 76 percent of these losses generated by U.S. events, according to a report issued by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development …

Active Atlantic Hurricane Season Looms – as Odds Drop of El Niño Formation

Forecasters again lowered the odds of El Niño forming by year’s end, a scenario that may mean more Atlantic hurricanes at a time when federal agencies charged with predicting and responding to natural disasters lack top administrators. The updated forecast, …

U.S. Weather Remains Biggest Driver of Global Insurance Losses in 2017: Aon

Severe weather in the U.S. remains the largest contributor to global insurance losses in 2017 after April continued the trend with multi-billion dollar losses for public and private insurers, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. “Much …

Rising Sea Temperatures Could Kill 90% of Coral Reefs by 2050: Scientists

There were startling colors here just a year ago, a dazzling array of life beneath the waves. Now this Maldivian reef is dead, killed by the stress of rising ocean temperatures. What’s left is a haunting expanse of gray, a …

Global Temperatures Hit Record High for 3rd Year in Row in 2016

World temperatures hit a record high for the third year in a row in 2016, creeping closer to a ceiling set by the Paris climate change deal, with extremes including unprecedented heat in India and ice melt in the Arctic, …

Global Natural Catastrophes Cost Insurers $50B in 2016: Munich Re

Insurers paid out around $50 billion for natural disaster claims last year, almost double 2015’s payout of $27 billion, reinsurer Munich Re said in its annual natural catastrophe review on Wednesday. Earthquakes in Japan and devastating floods in China – …

Just 2% of China’s July Floods Covered by Insurance, vs. Nearly 70% in U.S.: Aon

China’s seasonal “Mei-Yu” rainfall in July led to the worst flooding since 1998, bringing total combined economic losses of an estimated US$33 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. Affecting the Yangtze …

Storms & Earthquakes Drive Up Insured Losses in 1H 2016: Munich Re

Economic losses caused by natural catastrophes in the first half of 2016 totaled US$70 billion, a significant increase from the $59 billion reported for the first half of last year, according to a loss review issued by Munich Re. While …

Will 2016 See More Atlantic Hurricanes? Scientists Disagree

This summer and fall, the Atlantic Ocean might become a testing ground for competing scientific theories. After decades of warmth, there’s evidence that the ocean is cooling, a change that could mean fewer of the hurricanes that wreak havoc on …

Climate Records Keep Shattering with Hottest April in 12th Record-Setting Month

The number of climate records broken in the last few years is stunning. But here’s a new measure of misery: Not only did we just experience the hottest April in 137 years of record keeping, but it was the 12th …