Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, announced on August 11 that economic losses from natural disasters worldwide in the first half of this year reached an estimated $100 billion. This was a significant decrease from $152 billion in the same period last year. However, there is a possibility that the damage from weather-related disasters could expand in the second half of this year due to the El Niño phenomenon, and the risks cannot be underestimated.

In its latest report, the company stated that despite disasters such as severe storms in the U.S. in March and a strong earthquake in Venezuela in June, global economic losses from natural disasters in the first half of this year decreased from the first half of 2025 and were 10% below the 10-year average for the same period.

According to Swiss Re, losses from natural disasters tend to increase in the second half of the year, with the main factor being damage from the North Atlantic hurricane season from July to November. In the second half of this year, the El Niño phenomenon could intensify the damage from weather-related disasters.

The company pointed out that "the El Niño phenomenon could affect tropical cyclone activity in the central and eastern Pacific, and could also change the risk of floods, wildfires, and other extreme weather events in other regions."

According to the report, since June, a series of wildfires have occurred in various places, including France and Spain, burning down thousands of homes and damaging many infrastructure facilities. While the proportion of insured asset losses in Europe has been relatively small so far, wildfires are becoming one of the "most rapidly escalating" extreme weather risks globally. (Provided by/CGTN Japanese)