The 5 deadliest weather events of all time
Extreme weather can be deadly.
Traditionally, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) keeps track of extreme temperature and weather records. But on May 18, the WMO for the first time announced world records for the highest reported historical death tolls from tropical cyclones, tornadoes, lightning and hailstorms.
"Extreme weather causes serious destruction and major loss of life," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a press release. "The human aspect inherent in extreme events should never be lost."
The WMO is trying to strengthen early warning systems for extreme weather, especially as a growing world population and climate change threaten to make extreme weather events even more deadly, according to a report announcing these findings.
"These events highlight the deadly tragedies associated with different types of weather. Detailed knowledge of these historical extremes confirms our continuing responsibilities to not only forecast and monitor weather and climate but to utilize that information to save lives around the world so disasters of these types are lessened or even eliminated in the future," said Randall Cerveny, WMO Rapporteur on Climate and Weather Extremes.
These estimates could change if new information comes to light, but here are the events the report found to be the deadliest of various types of weather.
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