Munich Re says 2010 an ‘exceptional year’ for weather disasters

2010 has certainly been a year of dramatic weather extremes and unusual climate phenomenon. The shifting jet stream has been blamed for the flooding in Pakistan, the heatwave and fires in Russia and also this weeks major storm which traversed the U.S. Temperature records have been broken around the globe and now some areas are being forecast a very cold winter.

Peter Hoeppe, from Munich Re’s Geo Risks Research department, told journalists that 2010 has so far been an ‘exceptional year’ for weather disasters. “This year really has been a year of weather records. The first nine months of the year have seen the highest number of weather-related events since Munich Re started keeping records” he added.

It looks like 2010 could end with high insured losses from the many weather events experienced around the globe this year, this despite the lack of landfalling U.S. hurricanes. There is also the issue of an active La Niña which could cause further weather events in some areas.