The first six months of this year have been the costliest ever recorded for weather and climate disasters in the United States, with 14 events exceeding $1 billion in damages. This information comes from an analysis by the nonprofit organization Climate Central, which has revived a database previously maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Trump administration cut the NOAA program that tracked weather disaster damages, a move that led to the departure of its lead researcher, Adam Smith. Climate Central hired Smith to redevelop the database, which now shows that the January wildfires in Los Angeles were the most expensive disaster so far this year, causing over $61 billion in damage and becoming the costliest wildfire event on record.
The escalating costs of weather disasters highlight the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, compounded by populations moving into areas prone to wildfires and flooding. This situation also reflects a broader trend of nonprofit groups taking over federal projects related to climate change as the Trump administration cuts climate science initiatives. NOAA, in response to Climate Central's work, stated that it appreciates the funding mechanism for the Billion Dollar Disaster Product and that NOAA is refocusing its resources on products adhering to the President's Executive Order promoting sound, unbiased research.
The NOAA database was politically controversial, with House Republicans questioning its utility. An administration official cited uncertainties in cost estimations and the program's annual cost of $300,000 as reasons for its termination, arguing it was purely informational and used to advance a climate change narrative without considering other factors like development and climate cycles. However, Climate Central asserts its methodology and data sources are the same as NOAA's, acknowledging factors like population changes and climate variability. The analysis includes direct costs like damage to buildings and infrastructure, adjusted for inflation, but excludes losses like lives or health-related costs.
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