Climate Change 2001:
Synthesis Report
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Figure 2-7: The economic losses from catastrophic weather events have risen globally 10-fold (inflation-adjusted) from the 1950s to the 1990s, much faster than can be accounted for with simple inflation. The insured portion of these losses rose from a negligible level to about 23% in the 1990s. The total losses from small, non-catastrophic weather-related events (not included here) are similar. Part of this observed upward trend in weather-related disaster losses over the past 50 years is linked to socio-economic factors (e.g., population growth, increased wealth, urbanization in vulnerable areas), and part is linked to regional climatic factors (e.g., changes in precipitation, flooding events).

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