FRANKFURT: Natural disaster losses worldwide dropped sharply to $224 billion in 2025, reinsurer Munich Re said Tuesday, but warned of a still “alarming” picture of extreme weather events likely driven by climate change.
The figure was down nearly 40 percent from a year earlier, in part because no hurricane struck the US mainland for the first time in several years.
Nevertheless, “the big picture was alarming with regard to floods, severe ... storms and wildfires in 2025,” said Munich Re, a Germany-based provider of insurance for the insurance industry.
Around 17,200 lives were lost in natural disasters worldwide, significantly higher than about 11,000 in 2024, but below the 10-year average of of 17,800.
The costliest disaster of the year came in the form of Los Angeles wildfires in January, with total losses of $53 billion and insured losses of around $40 billion, Munich Re said in its annual disaster report.
