Al Jazeera English published this video item, entitled “The worst natural disasters of 2020” – below is their description.
The charity Christian Aid says the 10 worst climate disasters this year have cost $140bn in insurance claims.
Bushfires in Australia caused $5bn in losses, killed nearly three billion wild animals and displaced 65,000 people. On the US West Coast, wildfires caused $20bn worth of damage.
In China, flooding in the Yangtze River basin led to $32bn in losses.
However, extreme weather events linked to climate change had a disproportionate effect in poorer countries.
Six of the 10 costliest disasters were in Asia, which was hit by some of the strongest storms on record. They caused heavy human and financial losses in countries that bear little responsibility for global warming, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
And in East Africa, a massive locust invasion damaged $8.5bn worth of crops. The swarm was linked to unusually wet conditions caused by climate change.
Katherine Kramer, the climate policy lead at Christian Aid, talks to Al Jazeera.
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Al Jazeera English YouTube Channel
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