The Deadliest Types of Extreme Weather Events From news background, movies, and social media, it may seem like hurricanes, floods, and fires should top the list - but no! The most lives are claimed by the common heat: between 1995 and 2024 worldwide, over 278 thousand people died due to extreme heat! Storms-hurricanes claimed slightly fewer lives at nearly 275 thousand, while floods took about 205 thousand. However, hurricanes have the highest economic losses: $2.6 trillion during this period compared to $33 billion for heat: a difference of almost 100 times! Interestingly, extreme cold is not even classified separately - it falls under the "other" category with a total of 45.6 thousand deaths.

From news background, movies, and social media, it may seem like hurricanes, floods, and fires should top the list - but no! The most lives are claimed by the common heat: between 1995 and 2024 worldwide, over 278 thousand people died due to extreme heat! Storms-hurricanes claimed slightly fewer lives at nearly 275 thousand, while floods took about 205 thousand.

However, hurricanes have the highest economic losses: $2.6 trillion during this period compared to $33 billion for heat: a difference of almost 100 times!

Interestingly, extreme cold is not even classified separately - it falls under the "other" category with a total of 45.6 thousand deaths.