2021 Global Disaster Assessment Report

The report analyzes the characteristics of global extreme weather disasters from 2000 to 2021. During this period, annual direct economic losses from extreme disasters in Asia, America, Europe and Africa showed an increasing trend. The frequency of such disasters was far higher in Asia than on  other continents, and the  total  losses  in  Asia  from  2011  to  2021  were  twice  those  of  Asia  from  2000  to  2010.  The  report  also summarizes  the  characteristics  of  global  climate,  and  the  major  weather  and  climate  events  in  2021,  coupled with an analysis of the causes of typical major weather and climate events, including rainstorm-induced  flood,  drought,  tropical  cyclone,  heat  wave  and  wildfire,  cold  wave  and  severe  convection.  The report  calls  for  greater  world  attention  to  tackling  increasingly  frequent  extreme  weather  and  climate events, and boosting collaborative research toward that end.

Compared to the average over the last 30 years (1991-2020), the total frequency of global disasters in 2021 was 13% higher, with 81% lower in deaths, 48% less in the affected population, and 82% more in direct economic losses. Global flood disasters in 2021 were the most frequent, 48% more than the historic levels, causing 4,393 deaths, which was more than the death toll from  other disasters but 35% less than the historical average of flood-related deaths; the direct economic losses caused by storm disasters were  the  largest,  reaching  USD  137.7  billion,  133%  more  than  the  historical  average;  there  were  fewer strong earthquakes and their disaster losses were relatively small; the number of deaths from wildfires decreased, but the population affected rose by 219% and the direct economic losses were 109% higher than  the  historic  levels.  Regionally,  Asia  has  seen  the  highest  frequency  of disasters  in  2021, followed by North America; among all continents, Asia had the largest number of deaths due to disasters, followed by North America; North America has seen the highest economic losses due to disasters, followed by  Europe;  compared  with  developed  countries,  developing  countries  were  more  severely  affected  by disasters, mostly floods, storms, and extreme temperatures.