The Trillion-Dollar Cost of Brewing El Nino.

A new study in the journal Science found that the natural warming of the equatorial Pacific known as El Nino causes trillions of dollars in damage worldwide, with longer-lasting economic scars than previously thought. The study authors said the average El Nino costs the global economy about $3.4 trillion, with the strong 1997-1998 one costing $5.7 trillion. The World Bank estimated the 1997-1998 El Nino cost governments $45 billion, which is more than 100 times smaller than the Dartmouth estimate. The study shows a world unprepared for the hurt that’s coming from natural disasters like El Nino and human-caused climate change.