The death toll is rising in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, and recovery efforts are on-going in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. 

Ida was one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast.

A report on global weather disasters has been published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It found disasters caused by weather, climate or water hazards have occurred every day on average for the past 50 years (1970-2019). 

WMO, founded in 1950, is a specialized UN agency whose mandate covers weather, climate and water resources. 

The WMO says disasters have killed an average of 115 people and caused $202 million in damages every day. 

More than 11,000 weather-related disasters were reported around the world between 1970-2019.

During that same period, there have been more than two million deaths and $3.64 trillion in economic loss.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that climate change is contributing more extreme weather and disasters.

“The number of weather, climate and water extremes are increasing and will become more frequent and severe in many parts of the world as a result of climate change,” Taalas said in a statement.

“That means more heatwaves, drought and forest fires such as those we have observed recently in Europe and North America. We have more water vapor in the atmosphere, which is exacerbating extreme rainfall and deadly flooding. The warming of the oceans has affected the frequency and area of existence of the most intense tropical storms,” he added.

The report also found that of the top 10 disasters, droughts (650,000 deaths), storms (577,232 deaths), floods (58,700 deaths) and extreme temperatures (55,736 deaths) have led to the most deaths.

And in the U.S., the five most expensive weather disasters are all storms since 1979, topped by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

The U.S. also accounts for 38 percent of all global economic losses caused by weather, climate and water hazards.

Although, The WMO found the number of deaths decreased almost threefold from 1970 to 2019. The death toll fell from more than 50,000 in the 1970s to less than 20,000 in the 2010s. 

However, a new report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund found that one billion children worldwide are at “extremely high risk” of being victimized by climate change.

“For the first time, we have a complete picture of where and how children are vulnerable to climate change, and that picture is almost unimaginably dire,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a press release. “Climate and environmental shocks are undermining the complete spectrum of children’s rights, from access to clean air, food, and safe water to education, housing, freedom from exploitation, and even their right to survive. Virtually no child’s life will be unaffected.”

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