According to new data issued Tuesday by Munich Re, the reinsurance giant, there were 370 natural catastrophes worldwide in the first six months of 2019. That tally, which includes cyclones, flash floods, heat waves and other disasters, was down from 460 during the same period last year, and slightly less than the average of 400 over the past decade.

Total losses came to $42 billion. That’s no small amount, but it is less than the $62 billion recorded in the first half of 2018, and about half the average for the same period during the past 10 years.

But there’s no reason to expect the decline in losses to last, according to the company, which says that the trend for disasters has been moving clearly in one direction: Up.

“A year is always a data point, which can be slightly lower or higher,” said Raghuveer Vinukollu, who heads the natural catastrophe solutions team at Munich Reinsurance America. “But the overall trend is definitely saying higher.”

The world’s costliest disasters were once again in the United States. That’s a reminder, according to Mr. Vinukollu, of the vulnerabilities of the country’s building codes and infrastructure.

He said the United States needed to be more aggressive in both areas. “There is definitely a shortage of investment,” Mr. Vinukollu said.

The world’s most expensive catastrophe so far this year was the series of tornadoes and severe storms across the central United States in the second half of May, producing $3.3 billion in damages. That was followed by $3 billion for the storms and floods that hit the Midwest in March.