America has some of the wildest weather on the planet, and it turns out those extremes – which run from heat waves and tornadoes to floods, hurricanes and droughts – carry a heavy price tag.
Climate studies have associated more frequent and intense weather events – such as heavy storms and heat waves – with climate change. The wild swings in weather across the midwest over the last few years – including heat waves, floods, and drought – have been cited as an example of what lies ahead with future climate change.
A report from the environmental research organisation World Watch Institute on Wednesday provided further evidence of the costs of those extreme shifts – known as "weather whiplash".
The report found that the United States alone accounted for more than two-thirds of the $170bn in losses caused by natural disasters around the world last year.
Hurricane Sandy, the drought that spread across the corn belt last summer, and a spate of tornadoes and other extreme storms together accounted for $100bn of those global losses, the report said.
Fast-moving fires erupted across California on Wednesday as the state was lashed by powerful winds that...
New York’s mayor urged residents to take shorter showers, fix dripping faucets and otherwise conserve water,...
