Economic losses caused by natural catastrophes are trending upwards

Loss events 1980 to 2018 MunichRe — Number of loss events by type 1980-2018 Munich Re

Since 1980 Munich Re , a global provider of reinsurance, primary insurance, has been collecting data on natural events worldwide which are triggered by natural and man-made climate variability. These are categorized as geophysical – earthquake, tsunami, and other volcanic activity, meteorological – tropical storms, extratropical storms, convection storms, and local storms, hydrological – flash floods, floods, landslides and other mass movement, and climatological – extreme temperatures, drought, forest and wild fires. The data reveals an accelerating trend dominated by meteorological and hydrological events.

Overall and insured losses 1980 to 2017 MunichRe — Overall and insured losses (US$ billions) 1980-2017

Munich Re tracks not only insured events, but also uninsured events. In the early 1980s, only around a quarter of losses resulting from natural disasters were insured, even in highly developed industrialized countries. Today that proportion has risen to nearly a half of all losses being covered. For developing and emerging countries the proportion of insured losses has not improved in decades and is significantly less than 10%.

From Our Files

Southern Ocean outgassing initial source of rising CO2 during the last deglaciation

During the first pulse of increasing atmospheric CO2 at the beginning of the last deglaciation the carbon-13 ratio dropped precipitously indicating that a source of the CO2 was a large pool of carbon of organic origin. Comparison with other data including the atmospheric carbon-14 record point at outgassing from Southern Ocean deep water as the source of the CO2 increase in this early period of the deglaciation.

Circum-Arctic map of permafrost and ground ice conditions (NSIDC)

Greenhouse gas emissions from melting permafrost not yet significant

As the Earth warms, permafrost soils melt and this old carbon is released into the atmosphere as methane and CO2. Using radiocarbon dating of methane bubbles and soil organic carbon from lakes formed by melting thermafrost in Alaska, Canada, Sweden and Siberia combined with remote sensing it is found that methane and carbon dioxide releaed in the Arctic region during the past 60 years is much less than the CO2 contributed annually from anthropogenic and other sources.

Thermokarst distribution in northern circumpolar region

Geospatial analysis reveals 20% of northern permafrost region susceptible to abrupt permafrost thawing

Northern permafrost soils represent the largest terrestrial organic carbon pool on Earth. A study the northern circumpolar permafrost zones reveals that landscapes susceptible to abrupt thawing with the release of significant quantities of carbon dioxide and methane cover 20% of the northern permafrost region and store up to half its soil organic carbon.

Upward revision of methane emissions from shale gas production could erode natural gas’ cleaner energy advantage

Evidence that methane emissions from natural gas production have been considerably underestimated by the EPA was recently reinforced by the initiation of an investigation into how the EPA estimates methane emissions by the EPA’s Inspector General. If it is found that emissions of methane from natural gas production are considerably greater than current estimates, the advantage that natural gas has over coal will be eroded and the advantage of switching to natural gas as a cleaner form of energy diminished.