Mathias Busekist
Experts have already warned that this could hinder efforts to track and understand the financial impact of climate change.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday that it will retire its widely used “billion-dollar weather and climate disasters” database, making it nearly impossible for the public to track the economic impact of extreme weather events. The decision comes amid broader cuts to NOAA’s services, driven in part by staffing reductions and a narrowing of its focus on climate-related programs.
Since 1980, the database has provided critical information on the cost of natural disasters, from hurricanes to wildfires. It has been a vital tool for taxpayers, researchers, and the media to assess the growing financial toll of extreme weather, which many experts link to climate change. NOAA stated that the database will be archived but no longer updated after 2024.
The retirement of the database marks another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce government programs associated with climate research. While NOAA has consistently emphasized that the database does not attribute weather events to climate change, many analysts argue that the rising frequency and severity of extreme weather are linked to human-caused climate change.
The database has tracked 403 billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. since 1980, totaling more than $2.945 trillion in damages. The average number of such events per year has increased significantly in recent years, with a record 28 disasters in 2023 alone. Although no billion-dollar disasters have been confirmed for 2025, several events, including the January wildfires in Los Angeles, are potential candidates.
Critics argue that the database’s discontinuation will limit access to valuable data that combines public and private sources, including insurance industry losses and reinsurance estimates. Jeremy Porter, a climate risk expert at First Street, emphasized that the database’s unique methodology and access to proprietary data make it nearly irreplaceable.
“The loss of this resource makes it nearly impossible to replicate or extend damage trend analyses, especially at regional levels,” Porter said.
Other reports, such as those from reinsurance company Swiss Re, show a continued rise in natural disaster losses. Swiss Re estimated that global insured losses in 2025 will reach $145 billion, with a growth rate of 5% to 7% annually.
As NOAA pulls back on its climate-related offerings, experts warn that this could hinder efforts to track and understand the increasing financial impact of climate change and extreme weather.