Climate crisis costing $16m an hour in extreme weather damage, study estimates – the Guardian

The damaged metal fencing and railings along Beach Drive illustrate the power unleashed by Thursday’s storm as visitors take in the scene Friday morning © Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel

The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.

Storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts have taken many lives and destroyed swathes of property in recent decades, with global heating making the events more frequent and intense. The study is the first to calculate a global figure for the increased costs directly attributable to human-caused global heating…

California storm damage could top $1 billion – the New York Times

Kitchen manager Josh Whitby inspects the wreckage of Zelda's on the Beach Thursday afternoon in Capitola Village after the restaurant sustained major damage from the storm © 2023 Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Major weather disasters have been striking the United States much more often in recent years as the global climate changes.

The damage from weeks of storms and flooding in California could exceed a billion dollars, according to the state’s emergency agency and private weather forecasters. That toll comes on the heels of 2022, one of the worst on record for large-scale weather and climate disasters around the United States..