The Guardian view on worsening extreme weather: the injustice of the climate crisis grows ever clearer | Editorial

"The geographically uneven risks from increasingly extreme and dangerous weather grow ever starker. As Jamaica and other Caribbean countries clear up after Hurricane Melissa, and Typhoon Kalmaegi heads west after killing nearly 200 people in the Philippines and Vietnam, the case for more international support to countries facing the most destructive impacts from global heating has never been stronger. Last week's five-day rainfall in Jamaica was made twice as likely by higher temperatures, according to initial findings from climate attribution studies."

"The current death toll across the Caribbean is at least 75. The economic and social costs are hard to quantify in a region that is still recovering from 2024's Hurricane Beryl. Crucial infrastructure has been destroyed before the loans used to build it have even been paid off. Andrew Holness, Jamaica's prime minister, estimates that the damage there is roughly equivalent to one-third of the country's gross domestic product."

"Such catastrophic losses are officially recognised in the international climate process. On Thursday in Brazil, where Cop30 opens on Monday, the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, pointed out that the countries expected to face the worst impacts from global heating are the least responsible because their carbon emissions are, and have always been, low. But despite this acknowledgment, significant progress on the loss and damage fund created to support stricken countries, help them cope with disasters and become more resilient, is not expected in this round of talks."

Extreme weather events have caused severe human, economic, and infrastructural damage across the Caribbean and southeast Asia. Hurricane Melissa and successive storms produced rainfall rendered more likely by higher temperatures, while Typhoon Kalmaegi killed nearly 200 people in the Philippines and Vietnam. The Caribbean death toll stands at least 75, and Jamaica faces losses roughly equivalent to one-third of its GDP as infrastructure is destroyed even before loans are repaid. Catastrophic losses are recognised in international climate processes, yet progress on a loss-and-damage fund, adequate finance, and stronger emissions cuts remains insufficient.

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