Adapting to climate risks essential as losses reach $224 bln in 2025 – Munich Re

Natural disasters worldwide caused losses of around 224 billion US dollars in 2025, of which 108 billion were insured, said German reinsurance company Munich Re. Wildfires, flooding and severe thunderstorms accounted for the largest majority of all insured losses related to natural disasters last year, the reinsurer added.

“We need to be realistic: Adapting to these risks is essential,” said board member Thomas Blunck.

In Europe, natural disaster losses amounted to 11 billion US dollars, of which about half were insured and well below the 10-year average of 35 billion US dollars. A severe cold wave in Turkey with overall losses of two billion US dollars was the costliest event last year, followed by hailstorms in France, Austria and Germany.

Globally, last year’s losses were below the inflation-adjusted average for the past 10 years ($266 bln), and much lower than the inflation-adjusted losses seen in 2024, which totalled 368 billion US dollars. Munich Re pointed out that, especially given that no hurricane struck the US mainland, “the world was clearly spared potentially far worse losses by chance alone in 2025”. Still, the US saw the costliest natural disaster of the year in the Los Angeles wildfires.

As global temperatures rise, extreme weather events become more frequent and more intense, requiring countries across the world to adapt. Climate change is driving a wide range of hazards, making extreme weather events to become more frequent and more severe. Persistent low levels of rainfall are becoming more common and when the rain does come, it is frequently in prolonged downpours, causing flooding. Prolonged heatwaves and fires are also becoming more intense and more common.