Cyclone Amphan was the most expensive cyclone of 2020 and the fourth most expensive natural disaster overall

• The year 2020 saw at least ten extreme weather events that indicate climate change worsening — each costing more than $1.5 billion.
• The Atlantic Hurricane Season tops the list with costs amounting to at least $41 billion accounting for 30 individual storms that hit across the US, Central America and the Caribbean.
• Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal is the fourth most expensive natural disaster overall and the most expensive cyclone of 2020.

The year 2020 has been ‘extreme’ for more reasons than one. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events cost the world $150 billion this year — the worst was the Atlantic Hurricane season affecting the US and Central America at a whopping $40 billion.

Meanwhile, on the Indian coast, Cyclone Amphan cost India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka $13 billion. It also killed at least 42 people and displaced 4.9 million.

Despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan, it’s only the fourth most expensive natural disaster to hit the world in 2020 caused by extreme weather.

From the bushfires in Australia and the locust swarms in East Africa, here’s a full list of the top 10 most extreme weather events driven by climate change: