America faced a billion-dollar climate disaster every 10 days in 2025, new analysis shows

The United States experienced an almost relentless barrage of extreme weather in 2025, with major climate disasters striking every 10 days on average, according to a new analysis from Climate Central. The year brought 23 billion-dollar weather events that killed 276 people and caused $115 billion in damages, making it the ninth most expensive year on record for such disasters.

The devastating year began with the costliest wildfires in American history, as blazes tore through Los Angeles throughout January, ultimately accounting for more than half of the year’s total damages at $61.2 billion. Beyond the immediate destruction, these fires created a public health crisis as toxic smoke from burning homes and vehicles likely killed hundreds more people, even those living far from the flames. The remainder of 2025 brought a parade of severe storms, tornadoes, drought, and heatwaves across the country.

Climate change is clearly driving this alarming trend. In the 1980s, billion-dollar disasters occurred every 82 days on average, but that window has compressed to just 16 days over the past decade. Rising temperatures are intensifying wildfires, creating more severe storms and flooding, and supercharging hurricanes with record-hot ocean waters. While 2025 was spared hurricane landfalls due to unusual atmospheric conditions, the Atlantic still produced an extremely active season with 80% of hurricanes reaching major strength.

The analysis comes as the Trump administration discontinued the federal government’s disaster tracking database, prompting Climate Central to revive this crucial tool for understanding climate risks and informing adaptation strategies for an increasingly volatile future.