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What’s happening: Millions of people in the U.S. are under dangerous air quality conditions, as smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada spreads over the Northeast and Midwest regions. Canada is experiencing one of the worst starts to its wildfire season in history. According to Aon, nearly 7.4 million acres have been affected by wildfires year to date, above Canada’s 10-year average as of June 2, 2023. Madeleine Catzaras, ESG people solutions and solution development lead, EMEA Health at Aon, addressed how organizations should work with employees during severe weather events in Bloomberg.

Aon offers insights on the impacts of wildfires and other severe weather events:

• Aon’s Q1 2023 Global Catastrophe Recap found historic and record-setting high temperatures were observed in several regions of the world during the first quarter, often further exacerbating drought conditions and wildfire development. In Chile, fires have already burned more than 430,000 hectares of land, the second highest wildfire extent since 1993 globally.
• Certain conditions like heatwaves and wildfires are conducive to the development and accumulation of atmospheric pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter, which can have adverse impacts on respiratory and cardiovascular health. Learn more about the potential risks that come with climate change here.
  • Heatstroke, asthma and emotional distress are examples of direct impacts of climate change on human health, but there are also indirect factors, such as worker absenteeism and reduced productivity. Read more in UNLEASH.
• Aon’s 2023 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight noted there were 66,255 wildfires in the U.S. in 2022, the highest number in 10 years. However, insured losses from wildfires in the U.S. dropped below $1 billion for the first time after staying above the threshold for seven years. Meanwhile, the heatwaves across Europe further enhanced drought and wildfire risks. Read more about Aon’s insights on the extreme heatwave Europe faced last summer.
  • According to Richard Dudley, global head of climate strategy at Aon, “The re/insurance industry must collaborate and innovate with stakeholders, including existing and alternative sources of capital, green technology startups, risk mitigation firms and the public sector, so our society can decarbonize at scale. As a recent example, Revalue Nature, which provides nature-based carbon offset projects, collaborated with Aon to insure those investments against unforeseen events such as wildfires or bug infestations.” Read more about Aon’s collaboration with Revalue Nature here and in Reinsurance News. 

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