Germanwatch Climate Risk Index 2026 logs $4.5 trillion losses since 1995

Germanwatch released the Climate Risk Index 2026, finding over 832,000 lives lost across more than 9,700 extreme weather events and USD 4.5 trillion in economic losses from 1995 to 2024. The findings underscore the need for Indian businesses and investors to integrate physical climate risk into supply-chain and portfolio valuations.

Germanwatch released the Climate Risk Index 2026, assessing the most climate-vulnerable nations from 1995 to 2024 and analyzing the record-breaking year of 2024. The data reveals over 832,000 lives lost across more than 9,700 extreme weather events worldwide, with economic losses totaling USD 4.5 trillion over three decades. Storms alone accounted for 58 percent of losses, while floods affected nearly half of all impacted populations. The long-term rankings identify Dominica, Myanmar, and Honduras as the countries most affected by climate disasters.

Lower-middle-income countries and small island states bear the brunt of these costs despite contributing least to global emissions, a persistent injustice central to international climate negotiations. In 2024, the hottest year on record surpassing 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Chad suffered the most severe impacts from heat waves, Hurricane Beryl, and floods across Africa and Asia. Nations like Haiti and the Philippines face a new normal of recurring threats leaving insufficient recovery time.

Businesses should use the index to map supply-chain vulnerabilities and physical-asset risks in high-impact regions, while investors integrate climate-related data into portfolio valuations to safeguard against stranded assets. Policymakers should monitor COP30 recommendations emphasising the urgent need to close the global ambition gap in mitigation and finance. Critical next steps include implementing the Baku Adaptation Roadmap and operationalizing the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage, as courts increasingly clarify states' legal duties to prevent harmful climate effects.

Key figure — Economic losses: USD 4.5 trillion from over 9,700 extreme weather events, 1995-2024