US witnessed 20 separate billion-dollar climate & weather disasters in 2021: NOAA report

The annual report of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed that the United States was hit by 20 separate billion-dollar climate and weather disasters in 2021. It also dubbed 2021 as one of the most devastating climate years on record, with at least 688 deaths across the country, The Guardian reported. The year's 20 most expensive disasters include thousands of wildfires burning across western states, bitter cold and hail storms in Texas, tornadoes in the southeast, and tropical storms soaking the east coast. The damage from these disasters totalled around $145 billion, as per the report. 

With four tropical storms - Elsa, Fred, Ida, and Nicholas - accounting for just over half of the overall expenditure, 2021 was the third-most costliest extreme weather year on record. The catastrophic mega-disasters struck cities across the US last year, beginning with flash floods and bomb cyclones in California and finishing with Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever. It destroyed about 1,100 dwellings and 6,000 acres of land, costing more than $10 billion, NOAA report stated. 

2021 dubbed as US' fourth-hottest year on record

According to the report, the United States had its fourth-hottest year on record, owing to record-breaking highs in December that brought spring-like temperatures to some regions of the east coast. Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas all recorded the warmest December to date. The NOAA report comes as President Joe Biden intends to revive his Build Back Better bill, which includes the country's largest-ever climate investment. Experts believe that without this bill, the US  will be unable to meet its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, as per The Guardian. 

The costs of mega-disasters exceeded about $750 billion in the last five years

According to NOAA's disaster tracking, the average number of yearly billion-dollar incidents has increased to 17.2 in the last five years, up from 5.3 in the 1990s. Between 2017 and 2021, the soaring costs of mega-disasters exceeded about $750 billion. Adam Smith, an applied climatologist at NOAA, stated that climate change has outpaced construction standards, which have played a key influence in the increased number and expense of mega-disasters. "Much of the expansion has occurred in sensitive locations such as the beaches, river floodplains, and the wildland-urban interface. The construction rules at such places are insufficient to reduce damage from extreme occurrences and vulnerability is extremely high," he added as per The Guardian.

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