Currently, a major contributor to inflation is the surge in homeowners’ insurance costs, propelled by the unprecedented number of climate disasters in 2023. California, Louisiana, and Florida are now dependent on government assistance to manage the financial burden of residential property insurance.
Flood insurance will become expensive and difficult to obtain.
NOAA: A historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters
In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least 1 billion dollars. That number puts 2023 into first place for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year and included:
- 1 winter storm/cold wave event (across the northeast U.S. in early-February).
- 1 wildfire event (firestorm destroying town of Lahaina on Maui Island of Hawaii).
- 1 drought and heat wave event (focused across the central and southern U.S.).
- 4 flooding events (in California, Florida, and across the eastern and northeastern U.S.).
- 2 tornado outbreaks (across the central and eastern U.S.).
- 2 tropical cyclones (Idalia in Florida and Typhoon Mawar in Guam).
- 17 severe weather/hail events (across many parts of the country).
2023 was also deadly, causing at least 492 direct or indirect fatalities — the 8th most disaster-related fatalities for the contiguous U.S. since 1980.
* Our climate model employs chaos theory to comprehensively consider human impacts and projects a potential global average temperature increase of 9 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
What Can I Do?
There are numerous actions you can take to contribute to saving the planet. Each person bears the responsibility to minimize pollution, discontinue the use of fossil fuels, reduce consumption, and foster a culture of love and care. Be a butterfly and affect the world. The Butterfly Effect illustrates that a small change in one area can lead to significant alterations in conditions anywhere on the globe. Hence, the frequently heard statement that a butterfly in China can cause a hurricane in the Atlantic.