More than 9,700 extreme weather events between 1995 and 2024, with more than 830 thousand victims and more than $4.5 trillion in direct damage. This is what is noted by the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 presented by the environmental and development organization Germanwatch today at Cop30 in Belém. The country most affected is Dominica. Italy is in the ‘top 30’ and takes 16th place.
The analysis
According to the analysis, about 40% of the world’s population, or more than three billion, currently live in the eleven countries most affected by extreme climate events such as heat waves, hurricanes and floods in the last 30 years. These countries include India (9th place) and China (11th place), as well as other countries such as Libya (4th place), Haiti (5th place) and the Philippines (7th place). At the same time, EU countries and industrialized countries such as France (12th), Italy (16th) or the United States (18th) they are among the 30 countries most affected by extreme weather phenomena.
“Heat waves and storms pose the greatest threat to human life in the event of extreme weather events,” said Laura Schäfer, one of the CRI authors. “Storms also cause the greatest monetary losses, while floods account for the largest number of people affected by extreme weather events.”
Some countries that rank very high in the index suffer primarily from single but devastating weather events, while others are repeatedly hit by extreme weather. “Countries such as Haiti, the Philippines and India, which are among the ten most affected countries, face special challenges. These countries are hit by floods, heat waves or hurricanes so frequently that the entire region barely recovers from the impact until the next disaster strikes,” explains Vera Künzel, one of the authors of the index.
Dominica above
Topping the index for the 1995-2024 period is Dominica, a very small Caribbean island nation which has been hit by severe storms several times. In 2017, Hurricane Maria alone caused $1.8 billion in losses, nearly three times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). This is the most destructive of the seven tropical cyclones in the last 30 years.
Another example is Myanmar which is in second place. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people and caused $5.8 billion in damages. Heavy rains and the resulting floods have the most destructive impact. The index shows that countries in the Southern region are very vulnerable and need support from rich countries. However, these countries are also increasingly impacted by the climate crisis.
“The CRI 2026 results clearly show that Cop30 must find effective ways to close the global ambition gap. Global emissions must be reduced urgently, otherwise we risk increasing the number of deaths and economic disaster worldwide. At the same time, adaptation efforts must be accelerated. It is important to implement effective solutions to loss and damage and provide adequate climate finance,” explained David Eckstein, one of the authors of Cri.
The Climate Risk Index also carried out an assessment last year. Caribbean Islands St. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, which were hit by a Category 5 hurricane in the summer of 2024, rank first and second in this ranking. Chad is in third place, hit by devastating floods that lasted for months.
