America has some of the wildest weather on the planet, and it turns out those extremes – which run from heat waves and tornadoes to floods, hurricanes and droughts – carry a heavy price tag.
Climate studies have associated more frequent and intense weather events – such as heavy storms and heat waves – with climate change. The wild swings in weather across the midwest over the last few years – including heat waves, floods, and drought – have been cited as an example of what lies ahead with future climate change.
A report from the environmental research organisation World Watch Institute on Wednesday provided further evidence of the costs of those extreme shifts – known as "weather whiplash".
The report found that the United States alone accounted for more than two-thirds of the $170bn in losses caused by natural disasters around the world last year.
Hurricane Sandy, the drought that spread across the corn belt last summer, and a spate of tornadoes and other extreme storms together accounted for $100bn of those global losses, the report said.
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level...
Three major wildfires burning near Spokane, Washington, caused authorities to declare a state of emergency and...
Construction crews building a border wall in New Mexico were ordered to stop drilling new wells...
A heatwave scorching the western US region has elevated the risk of hazardous fire conditions particularly...
