High-profile disasters get a lot of attention. A wildfire sweeps away a city, a tornado carves through a community, a drought dries out fields which then are prone to flooding. NOAA tracks such events, naturally. They make news, there are more of them, and that’s not the end of the impact. Since 1980, the typical number of billion-dollar disasters in the US has been about eight or nine per year. Recent climate changes have raised that to 25 disasters in 2023.
“…the last three years have seen an average of 18 cross the billion-dollar threshold each year.” – NOAA
Disasters created about $80B in damages, combined. The majority of disasters were climate related. They happened nation-wide. Climate change has gone from speculation to early indications to confirming modeling to surpassing even non-conservative estimates. More people are being convinced, some because the impact on their lives in undeniable – even as some still deny it. The immediate and systemic effects are pervasive, many, and the trend seems to be increasing.
Pretending Not To Panic 
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