Summary/Abstract
This synthesis report summarizes the state of the climate, extreme events, and their socioeconomic impacts in the South-West Pacific in 2022. The year 2022 was still a warm year for the region, despite temporary cooling associated with the La Nina event, and ranks within the top ten warmest years for the region. Marine heatwaves occurred in various parts of the region, including in a large area northeast of Australia and south of Papua New Guinea. Overall, more than 8 million people were directly affected by hazards like storms and floods in the region, leading to total economic damage of close to US$ 9 billion. Eastern Australia faced severe flooding in late February and early March, causing significant loss of life and economic impacts on the order of US$ 6.6 billion. Economic loss in the region from disasters in 2022 was more than 4 times the 2002-2021 average.