$2 Trillion in damages

That's how much NOAA says has been the cost of 310 major weather and climate disasters since 1980. Last year was an especially bad year - disasters exceeded $145 billion, making 2021 the third-costliest in the time period studied. These events claimed 688 human lives and injured scores more. The storms were especially bad for communities of color, low-income communities, and communities that have endured multiple disasters. 

And things are getting warmer. The last seven years were the hottest on record worldwide as the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane continue to rise. NOAA says 2021 was the fourth-warmest ever recorded in the U.S.