Swiss Re’s biannual report calculating the damages caused by natural and man-made disasters does not make for easy reading.
In the latest edition, out this week, the reinsurance group upped its estimate for the economic losses caused by global disasters in 2017, from $306 billion to $337 billion. The main reason is a series of record-breaking hurricanes—namely Harvey, Irma, and Maria—that ravaged US coasts.
Sadly, the firm adds in its report, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and severity of such events, as is already apparent in the numbers.