Den amerikanske præsident, Donald Trump, er ikke den store foregangsmand på klimaområdet.
Han meddelte sidste år, at USA ønsker at trække sig fra den globale klimaaftale, Paris-aftalen. Supermagten vil dermed blive det eneste land ud over Syrien, der ikke er med i pagten, som det ser ud nu.
Men klimaet koster både menneskeliv og dollar i USA. Det viser en ny analyse af det statslige vidensinstitut National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
2017 var det tredjevarmeste år siden målingerne startede, men prisen for klimaforandringernes hærgen var højere end nogensinde før.
Her udpluk fra artiklen på NOAA (resten kan læses i linket nederst):
Last year, the U.S. experienced 16 weather and climate disasters each with losses exceeding $1 billion, totaling approximately $306 billion — a new U.S. record.
Far more tragic was the human toll. At least 362 people died and many more were injured during the course of the disasters that included:
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1 freeze;
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1 drought (affected multiple areas);
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1 wildfire (affected multiple areas);
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2 floods;
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3 major hurricanes (Harvey, Irma and Maria); and
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8 severe storms.
The biggest newsmakers include the western U.S. wildfires that caused damages tallying $18 billion — triple the previous U.S. record. Losses from Hurricane Harvey exceeded $125 billion, which ranked second only to Hurricane Katrina, the costliest storm in the 38-year period of record. Hurricanes Maria and Irma had total damages of $90 billion and $50 billion, respectively. Hurricane Maria now ranks as third costliest weather and climate disaster on record for the nation, with Irma coming in close behind as fifth costliest.
Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 219 weather and climate disasters that have exceeded $1.5 trillion in overall damages to date
