The costliest single weather event of the year was Hurricane Sandy, which struck the northeastern United States in late October, with overall economic costs estimated at over US$67billion.
Overview
The year began with La Niña conditions, meaning cooler than normal waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. By later in the year, the global weather pattern shifted to more neutral conditions. The global temperature was 1.03°F (−17.21°C) above average, making it the tenth-warmest year ever recorded.[1]
Throughout 2012, there were 9,655people killed by natural disasters, which marked the fewest global fatalities in a decade. This included 3,574deaths related to hydrological events. The lower than usual death toll was due to fewer flooding and cyclonic events. Asia was the continent most often affected during the year.[2]
The following listed different types of special weather conditions worldwide.
Cold snaps and winter storms
In January, cold temperatures of −30°C (−22°F) killed 112people in Ukraine,[8] while avalanches and a cold wave killed 45people across Afghanistan.[9]
Floods
Throughout the year, floods killed 673people in China,[10] including July flash floods in Beijing which killed 79people and left 10¥billion (US$1.6billion) in damage.[11] In May, floods and landslides killed 131people in Rwanda.[6] In June, monsoonal floods in northern India killed 122people.[7] In early July, a low pressure area in the Black Sea dropped 280mm (11in) of rainfall in a few hours in parts of southwestern Russia, causing flash flooding that killed 172people.[12][5] In September, monsoonal floods in Pakistan killed 455people.[3]
Heat waves and droughts
Drought conditions persisted across much of North America throughout the year, causing at least US$39.9billion in damage, much of it from crop failures. A strong heat wave during the summer killed 129people.[13]
Elsewhere, drought conditions in northeast Brazil led to their government allocating R$2.7billion (US$1.35billion) worth of assistance for farmers and water distribution.[14]
In March, a severe weather outbreak of 75 tornadoes killed 42people and inflicted US$4.1billion in damage across the southeastern United States and into the Ohio Valley.[13]
At the start of the year, Tropical Cyclone Benilde was moving across the south-west Indian Ocean.[15] The strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2012 was Typhoon Sanba in the western Pacific Ocean. On September13, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated maximum sustained winds of 285km/h (180mph).[16][17] The costliest storm of the year was Hurricane Sandy, which formed in October in the Caribbean Sea; after moving across Cuba, Sandy later evolved into a large extratropical cyclone that struck New Jersey, causing $65billion in damage across the northeastern United States. Much of the damage was in the New York City metropolitan area, with train service disrupted for several weeks.[4] The deadliest storm of the year was Typhoon Bopha, which killed 1,901people and left US$1.16billion in damage after it struck the Philippine island of Mindanao on December3.[2][18] As the year ended, there were two tropical cyclones that lasted into early 2013 – Cyclone Freda in the South Pacific Ocean, and Tropical Cyclone Dumile in the south-west Indian Ocean.[19]
In the Atlantic, there were 19tropical storms, of which 10became hurricanes, attaining winds of at least 120km/h (75mph).[20] In the eastern Pacific, there were 17tropical storms, of which 10became hurricanes.[21] The North Indian Ocean was inactive, with only five tropical cyclones, of which two became cyclonic storms.[22]
Wildfires
Throughout the year, wildfires in the United States burned more than 9,200,000 acres (37,000km2) of land, killing eight people and causing US$2.3billion in damage.[13]
January 9–12 – Floods and landslides in northern Brazil killed 17people.[26]
Mid-January – Avalanches and a cold wave killed 45people across Afghanistan.[9]
January 17 – Subtropical Depression Dando made landfall in extreme southern Mozambique, the first storm to hit the southern portion of the country since 1984.[27] The storm's rains killed four people in Mozambique and another six in South Africa. Damage in South Africa was around $65million.[28][29][30][31]
January 17–28 – Cyclone Funso formed and looped around the Mozambique Channel, bringing additional rainfall and floods after Dando struck Mozambique. The two storms collectively killed 40people in Mozambique.[32]
January 24 – February 3 – A weather disturbance produced floods and tornadoes in Indonesia, killing 16people. The disturbance would eventually become Tropical Cyclone Iggy in the eastern Indian Ocean, eventually striking Western Australia as a weakened storm.[37][38]
January 24 – A landslide in Papua New Guinea killed at least 25people.[39]
February
February – Across Afghanistan, 54children died of hypothermia following a cold wave.[40]
February 7–24 – Cyclone Giovanna passed north of the Mascarene Islands, killing one person each on Réunion and Mauritius.[41][42] The powerful cyclone later struck eastern Madagascar, killing 35people, with more than 44,000houses destroyed.[43]
February 9–13 – Floods killed four people across the Philippines.[44]
February 25 – March 12 – Tropical Storm Irina moved across Madagascar, with its landslides and floods killing 72people and leaving 70,000people homeless.[45] Later, Irina looped off southeastern Africa, causing 12deaths between Mozambique and South Africa.[46]
March–May – Rains and floods killed 22people in Haiti.[47]
March 2–3 – A severe weather outbreak of 75 tornadoes killed 42people and inflicted US$4.1billion in damage across the southeastern United States and into the Ohio Valley.[13]
March 20 – An avalanche killed 17people in northeastern Afghanistan.[48]
August 11 – Landslides on Trinidad killed two people, related to a tropical wave that would eventually become Tropical Storm Helene.[64]
August 21 – September 3 – Hurricane Isaac moved through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, eventually striking Louisiana; the hurricane killed at least 34people and left more than US$2billion in damage along its path.[65]
September – Heavy rains in Vietnam killed 16 people.[66]
September 10–19 – Typhoon Sanba, the strongest cyclone worldwide in 2012, took a generally northward path through the western Pacific Ocean, making landfall on South Korea on September17.
September 30 – Rainfall associated with Hurricane Miriam caused floods in Texas, killing one person.[67][68]
October
October 10–11 – A deep depression killed 34people when it hit Bangladesh.[22]
October 12–17 – Hurricane Rafael moved from the Caribbean to the open Atlantic Ocean, killing one person on Guadeloupe.[69]
October 22–29 – Shortly after transitioning into an extratropical cyclone, former Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine, New Jersey. Its large wind field caused $65billion in damage across the northeastern United States, as well $2billion in damage in Cuba. Along its path, Sandy killed 233people.[4]
October 28 – November 1 – Cyclone Nilam looped off northeastern Sri Lanka before striking southern India, killing at least 71people.[22]
November
December
December 3 – Typhoon Bopha strikes Mindanao in the southeastern Philippines, killing 1,901people.[2]
December 9–27 – Cyclone Evan moved across the South Pacific, striking Samoa and Fiji, killing 14people.[70]
1 2 3 Blake, Eric S; Kimberlain, Todd B; Berg, Robert J; Cangialosi, John P; Beven II, John L; National Hurricane Center (February 12, 2013). Hurricane Sandy: October 22– 29, 2012(PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
↑ Flash floods DREF operation n° MDRGE004. International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (Report). May 16, 2012. ReliefWeb. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
↑ Beven II, John L; National Hurricane Center (December 12, 2012). Tropical storm Beryl(PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
↑ Daniel P. Brown (February 20, 2013). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ernesto(PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. pp.1–2, 4. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
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