REPORT: 2025 – A Year Of Record-Setting Climate Disasters
2025 was another year of climate disasters, including record-breaking wildfires, flash flooding, and hurricanes. Yet, some continue to deny the reality and ongoing effects of climate change.
2025 saw records broken in heat, drought, and precipitation. In 2025, the United States experienced 23 billion-dollar disasters, totaling $115 billion in damages and causing 156 deaths.
Key Stats
Number Of Deaths From Billion-Dollar Weather And Climate Disasters: 276
Estimated Damage Costs From Billion-Dollar Weather And Climate Disasters Through December: $115 billion
Number Of Deaths From Billion-Dollar Severe Storms: 156
Number Of Billion-Dollar Severe Storms: 21
Number Of Named Atlantic Storms: 13 (including 5 hurricanes, 4 of which were considered major)
Number Of Category 5 Hurricanes: 3 (Erin, Humberto, and Melissa)
Number Of Deaths From Billion-Dollar Wildfires: 31
Number Of Wildfires As Of 12/26/2025: 72,068
Wildfire Acres Burned As Of 12/26/2025: 5,039,145
Top Climate Event Records of 2025
- The Los Angeles, CA, Wildfires Were The Two Most Expensive Wildfires In World History: In January, the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire ravaged southern California, causing a combined $65 billion in economic damage, approximately twice the cost of the previous record wildfire. The fires raged for weeks, killed dozens of people, destroyed thousands of homes, and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate the Los Angeles area. These wildfires were made 35% more likely due to climate change.
- Hurricane Melissa Had The Strongest Landfall On Record In The Atlantic: Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28th in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, bringing extreme winds, torrential rainfall, and life-threatening storm surges to coastal areas before weakening to a Category 3 in Cuba, as well as impacting Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Melissa is tied for the strongest landfalling hurricane in the Atlantic basin by wind speed. Climate change made the conditions for Hurricane Melissa’s rapid intensification up to 700 times more likely due to abnormally warm ocean waters.
- Gulf Coast Snowstorm Broke Longtime Records: On January 21st, a historic snowstorm hit the northern Gulf Coast and shattered 130-year snowfall records across the region. The Gulf Coast experienced its first-ever blizzard warning, and the storm caused at least 13 fatalities and at least $500 million in damage.
- Flash Flooding In Texas Was One Of The Deadliest Floods On Record: On July 4th, flash flooding from the Guadalupe River swept through the Hill Country of Texas, killing at least 138 people. This flash flood had the tenth-highest death toll on record for the U.S., and the largest death toll since 1976.
- Six Central U.S. Tornado Outbreaks Totalled More Than $28 Billion In Costs: Six outbreaks of tornadoes in the Central U.S. between March and April 2025 cost approximately $28.5 billion and caused 108 deaths. An EF-5 wedge tornado in North Dakota was the first confirmed EF-5 since 2013.
2025 Records
- 2025 was the third-highest year for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, with 23 events costing a total of $115 billion in damages.
- 2025 was the third-warmest year on record, behind 2023 and 2024.
- 2025 was the fourth-warmest year for the contiguous U.S. on record.
- 2025 was in the top third of driest years for the U.S. on record.
- Vermont and New Hampshire each had their driest July-September period on record, with drought expanding to cover 100% of each state through October.
- In the U.S. in 2025, 29,145 high maximum temperature records were broken, and 9,884 were tied.
- In the U.S. in 2025, 19,665 high precipitation records were broken, and 2,524 were tied.
- In the U.S. in 2025, 4,206 high snowfall records were broken, and 1,124 were tied.