Ballywatticock was country’s hottest ever spot last week – but its reign had ended within days

(The Guardian, 21 Jul 2021) Texas polar vortex and heatwaves across US and Canada help push insurance payouts to a 10-year high.

Insurers will have to pay out the largest amount of compensation in 10 years to cover the damage caused by natural disasters in the first half of 2021, including extreme freezing temperatures in the US, according to an industry report.

Global natural disaster insured losses, the amount insurers are forecast to pay out, will be as high as $42bn (£31bn) for the six-month period, according to preliminary estimates by Aon, an insurer headquartered in London.

Climate scientists have long predicted that the global climate crisis will contribute to more frequent extreme weather events, such as storms, floods and heatwaves, across the world.

Twenty-one weather events caused losses to the broader economy of more than $1bn, as well as an earthquake. The rise in insured losses was mainly caused by extreme weather events in the US, including the freezing conditions that caused chaos and electricity blackouts in southern states including Texas in February.

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The Guardian, 21 Jul 2021: Ballywatticock was country’s hottest ever spot last week – but its reign had ended within days