US climate agency stops tracking costly natural disasters / Photo: © AFP/File
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US climate agency stops tracking costly natural disasters
US President Donald Trump's administration will stop updating a long-running database of costly climate and weather disasters as part of its deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to a Thursday announcement.
The database, which spans the years 1980-2024, has allowed researchers, the media and the public to keep a tally of events ranging from wildfires to hurricanes that caused losses exceeding $1 billion, adjusted for inflation.
"In alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information will no longer be updating the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product," a banner on the landing page said. Past years will remain archived.
From 1980 to 2024, the United States experienced 403 weather and climate disasters with damages exceeding $1 billion each, adjusted to 2024 dollars. The cumulative cost of these events surpassed $2.9 trillion.
A time-series chart shows that while there is year-to-year variation, the overall number of billion-dollar disasters is rising sharply, driven by climate destabilization linked to fossil fuel emissions.
"Hiding many billions in costs is Trump's latest move to leave Americans in the dark about climate disasters," said Maya Golden-Krasner of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute.
"Trump's climate agenda is to leave people unsafe and unprepared while oil companies pocket record profits," Golden-Krasner added. "The pressure is on for leaders with integrity to keep counting the costs of climate disasters and hold polluters accountable for the damage."
Trump, who withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement on day one of his second term, has pursued aggressive rollbacks of climate-focused institutions.
His administration appears to be following "Project 2025," a blueprint authored by right-wing think tanks that labels NOAA a key source of "climate alarmism."
NOAA has since undergone mass layoffs affecting roughly 20 percent of its workforce, and the White House is seeking to slash the agency's annual budget by $1.5 billion -- nearly a quarter of its total funding.
The move follows another major blow to federal climate science: the dismissal of more than 400 authors behind the National Climate Assessment, a report mandated by Congress and considered the government's foremost climate evaluation.
M.Ouellet--BTB
