'Severe and costly': 2018 clocks in $160bn worth of extreme weather damages

Madeleine Cuff
clock • 2 min read

Annual natural disaster report from Munich Re rates 2018 as the fourth costliest year since 1980

From a calm start, 2018 descended into extreme weather chaos causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, according to the latest report on natural disasters from German reinsurer Munich Re...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Climate change

Survey: Two thirds of farmers believe sustainable practices essential to future of British farming

Survey: Two thirds of farmers believe sustainable practices essential to future of British farming

New McCain Foods research shows sustainability increasingly viewed not just as an environmental issue, but a key driver of climate resilience and long-term profitability

clock 07 October 2026 • 4 min read
UN climate chief: 'Pregnancy and birth are now a new faultline in the climate crisis'

UN climate chief: 'Pregnancy and birth are now a new faultline in the climate crisis'

Simon Stiell warns of growing extreme heat threat to pregnant women and newborns as he calls for issue to be explicitly referenced in national adaptation plans worldwide

Michael Holder
clock 05 October 2026 • 6 min read
Study: Record 52 per cent of Europe exposed to 'very strong' summer heat stress

Study: Record 52 per cent of Europe exposed to 'very strong' summer heat stress

Consequences of 'summer of compounded climate extremes' extend far beyond temperature records, EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service warns

Stuart Stone
clock 02 October 2026 • 5 min read