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The $1 billion National Database of Weather and Climate Disasters has found a new home after the Trump administration decided to scrap it earlier this year. Thanks to researchers continuing to work despite a lack of federal support, we can maintain that number this year — which has already proven to be one of the most expensive years on record.
Until recently, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) shared data and insights about multibillion-dollar disasters dating back to 1980 at federal expense. Website. NCEI stopped updating this resource in May, “in keeping with evolving priorities, legal mandates, and staffing changes” under the Trump administration, according to the website.
We could continue that number this year – which has already proven to be one of the most expensive years on record
Donald Trump quickly moved on Removes Information On climate change from government websites since taking office, but has been confronted Legal challenges And unremitting efforts to Archive that data By people who depend on it for their livelihoods and to inform public health and safety policies. The billion-dollar disaster database and Risk mapfor example, was intended to help communities plan for the future by understanding where residents may be most vulnerable and how building codes need to adapt.
The nonprofit research and advocacy group Climate Central launched its version of the database today on its own Website. Likewise, it tracks weather and climate-related disasters that have resulted in at least $1 billion in losses. The tool includes data on disasters since 1980, and adjusts costs for inflation. Adam Smithwho has been the lead scientist for NCEI’s $1 billion Disaster Tool for the past 15 years, now leads the work at Climate Central.
By analyzing the first six months of this year, Climate Central found that 14 individual disasters have already had a cumulative cost of $101.4 billion. These numbers are really high for the United States. The country faces nine separate disasters worth billions of dollars a year, on average, according to the research. These devastating events have become more frequent and severe since 1980. During that decade, the average was only 3 events per year. The past two years have broken records, with 28 and 27 such disasters occurring respectively.
Average annual inflation-adjusted costs have increased more than six-fold over roughly the same time period, reaching $153.2 billion annually in the 2020s compared to $22.6 billion annually in the 1980s.
This year began with the costliest wildfire event on record in the United States, a wildfire Hell That tore through the greater Los Angeles area. With losses exceeding $60 billion, the January fires in Los Angeles easily made the first six months of 2025 the costliest of any year so far in the database.