The first half of 2025 has become the most expensive six-month stretch of climate disasters in U.S. history. Fourteen separate events each caused more than $1 billion in damage, adding up to about $101 billion in total losses, according to new analysis from the nonprofit Climate Central.

The biggest driver was the Los Angeles wildfire in January, which destroyed around 16,000 buildings, led to roughly 400 indirect deaths, and cost an estimated $61 billion. It now ranks among the most expensive disasters in U.S. history and is the only event in the top ten not caused by a hurricane. Across the rest of the country, severe storms, floods, and other extremes added to the toll, underscoring how climate-related destruction is no longer limited to one region or type of disaster.

Until 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tracked billion-dollar weather disasters, but that program was discontinued during the Trump administration. Climate Central has since revived and updated the dataset, using the same methodology NOAA pioneered. Adam Smith, who formerly led the NOAA effort, now heads the renewed project, calling it “too important to lose” as policymakers and insurers try to understand the growing risks.

The data show a sharp rise in both frequency and cost. From 1985 to 1995, U.S. disasters totaled about $299 billion. Between 2014 and 2024, the figure soared to roughly $1.4 trillion. Scientists point to human-driven climate change as the main force behind this escalation, with warmer air and oceans amplifying wildfires, floods, droughts, and storms.

The $101 billion bill from early 2025 isn’t just a financial marker — it represents lost homes, livelihoods, and lives. Each new disaster exposes how unprepared much of the country remains for the accelerating effects of global warming. Without major investment in resilience and emissions reduction, analysts warn that what’s now record-breaking could soon become routine.