Climate Action

This chart shows where extreme weather is causing the most fatalities

Myanmar-has-experienced-the-most-deaths-from-extreme-weather-between-1998-and-2017

Myanmar has experienced the most deaths from extreme weather between 1998 and 2017. Image: REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

Niall McCarthy
Data Journalist, Statista
  • Between 1998 and 2017, more than half a million people lost their lives due to extreme weather, while $3.47 trillion was lost (in PPP)
  • There were 7,000 deaths from extreme weather - by far the highest of any country - in Myanmar from 1998 to 2017

Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and more severe as a result of climate change. They are already a harsh reality for communities all over the world and in the period between 1998 and 2017, 526,000 people lost their lives due to extreme weather while economic losses amounted to $3.47 trillion (in PPP).

Global Climate Risk Index

The above numbers are according to the Global Climate Risk Index which was released by environmental and development organization Germanwatch. It found that last year, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka and Dominica suffered the greatest impact from extreme weather events connected to climate change. Hurricane Maria caused immense damage in Puerto Rico and Dominica in September 2017 with the former suffering 2,975 fatalities as well as substantial damage to its infrastructure and electricity grid.

In the period between 1998 and 2017, Puerto Rico also suffered the greatest overall impact from extreme weather with 4,000 of its inhabitants losing their lives and damage equating to 4 percent of its GDP. When it comes to fatalities, Myanmar is far ahead of all other countries, experiencing 7,000 deaths per year on average during the above time frame. In terms of average annual fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, Myanmar also had 14.39, far ahead of second placed Dominica's 4.72. The U.S. came in 80th with 0.15 deaths per 100,000 of the population attributable to extreme weather.

How do poorer countries fare in extreme weather disasters?

In relative terms, poorer developing countries suffer a much greater impact from these natural disasters and the report has highlighted their vulnerability to the planet's changing climate. This is certainly true of Myanmar which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008, with 140,000 people dying and 2.4 million more getting displaced. The situation also affected developed countries and France is a notable example with nearly 20,000 deaths linked to storms and especially heatwaves over the past two decades.

Annual-average-fatalities-per-100000-inhabitants-due-to-extreme-weather-events-1998-2017
Myanmar, Dominica and Honduras experienced the most fatalities from extreme weather events between 1998 and 2017. Image: Statista
Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

SDG 13: Climate Action

Related topics:
Climate ActionGlobal Risks
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how SDG 13: Climate Action is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

No-snow record for Japan’s Mount Fuji, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

David Elliott

November 5, 2024

Beyond promises: Why COP29 must secure a $1trn climate finance goal for global action

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum