Extreme weather, fueled by climate change, cost the U.S. $165 billion in 2022

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/10/ [login to see] /extreme-weather-fueled-by-climate-change-cost-the-u-s-165-billion-in-2022
A town-flattening hurricane in Florida. Catastrophic flooding in eastern Kentucky. Crippling heatwaves in the Northeast and West. A historic megadrought. The United States endured 18 separate disasters in 2022 whose damages exceeded $1 billion, with the total coming to $165 billion, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The annual report from the nation's premier meteorological institution highlights a troubling trend: Extreme weather events, fueled by human-caused climate change, are occurring at a higher frequency with an increased cost — in dollars and lives.

"Climate change is creating more and more intense, extreme events that cause significant damage and often sets off cascading hazards like intense drought, followed by devastating wildfires, followed by dangerous flooding and mudslides," said Dr. Rick Spinrad, NOAA's administrator, citing the flooding and landslides currently happening in California.