Countries in the Global South have been affected most by extreme weather events in the last 30 years, according to The Climate Risk Index 2025 published by Germanwatch, an environmental think tank. In some cases such as Dominica, losses incurred by a single extreme weather event can be many times higher than entire gross domestic product of a country.
The backward-looking index analyses how extreme weather events affect countries and ranks countries according to economic and human effects on them (fatalities and affected, injured, and homeless people), with the most affected country ranked first.
Extreme weather events
Between 1993 and 2022, more than 9,400 extreme weather events occurred killing killed almost eight lakh people and causing economic damages totalling $4.2 trillion (inflation-adjusted). Those affected by recurring extreme events include China, India, and the Philippines while Dominica, Honduras, Myanmar, and Vanuatu were most affected by exceptional extreme events.
Next climate summit in Brazil (COP) must address lack of additional climate finance to support vulnerable countries with adaptive capacities and adequately addressing loss and damage. To prevent further loss and damage, they need to ramp up mitigation action with new nationally determined contributions to stay below or as close as possible to 1.5°C warming, says Lina Adil, Policy Advisor for Adaptation and Loss & Damage at Germanwatch.
| Countries most affected during 1992-2022 | Countries most affected in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dominica | Pakistan |
| China | Belize |
| Honduras | Italy |
| Myanmar | Greece |
| Italy | Spain |
| India | Puerto Rico |
| Greece | US |
| Spain | Nigeria |
| Vanuatu | Portugal |
| Philippines | Bulgaria |
Three EU states among listed
Three EU states – Italy, Spain, and Greece – are among 10 most affected countries worldwide over the past 30 years, according to Laura Schaefer, Head of Division for International Climate Policy. If data from these countries were as comprehensive as those from many Global North countries, an even greater degree of economic and human effects might become visible.
High-income and high-emission countries must recognise urgency of accelerating mitigation efforts. “The less we invest in mitigation and adaptation, more staggering the human and economic costs in future“, states David Eckstein, Senior Advisor for Climate Finance and Investments at Germanwatch.
Mitigation action needed
Most vulnerable countries are disproportionately affected by impact of climate change partly due to limited financial and technical capabilities to adapt and manage losses and damages. They need to ramp up mitigation action urgently with new nationally determined contributions to stay below or as close as possible to 1.5°C warming, Eckstein pointed out.