Amidst federal cuts to climate science, a vital dataset tracking billion-dollar weather disasters, discontinued by NOAA, has found a new home at Climate Central. Their latest report reveals the first six months of 2025 to be the costliest ever, driven by events like the $61 billion Los Angeles wildfires, signaling a critical shift in data accessibility and climate impact reporting.
The first half of 2025 marked an unprecedented period for weather and climate disasters in the United States, recording the most significant economic toll ever documented. A new report by the nonprofit organization Climate Central reveals 14 separate billion-dollar events occurred between January and June, accumulating over $101.4 billion in damages. This critical data almost remained unseen by the public, following the discontinuation of the program by the Trump administration that had previously tracked these events under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
A Vital Dataset Resurfaces: Climate Central Takes the Helm
The Billion-Dollar Disaster dataset has been a cornerstone for understanding the financial impact of extreme weather events across the U.S. For decades, it was meticulously maintained by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). However, earlier this year, the Trump administration cut funding for the program, leading to its cancellation.
In a significant development for climate science transparency, Climate Central, a research group dedicated to understanding climate change impacts, stepped in to revive this crucial resource. They hired Adam Smith, the former lead scientist for NOAA’s program, to continue the research and analysis. This collaboration ensures the continuity of data collection, building upon the robust foundation established by NOAA. The updated dataset, which includes records stretching back to 1980, is now accessible through Climate Central’s climate services portal, as detailed in their official announcement by PR Newswire (US).
2025’s Unprecedented Costs: A Closer Look at the Numbers
The first half of 2025 stands out as the costliest on record, driven by a series of severe events. The 14 billion-dollar disasters recorded in just six months significantly surpass the inflation-adjusted annual average of nine events over the past 46 years. Overall, since 1980, the U.S. has endured 417 such events, with total costs exceeding $3.1 trillion.
The 14 Billion-Dollar Weather Events of Early 2025:
- Los Angeles wildfires (Jan. 7-28): $61.2 billion
- Southeastern severe storms (Feb 15-16): $1.6 billion
- Southern severe storms (March 3-5): $1.4 billion
- Central tornado outbreak (March 14-16): $10.6 billion
- Texas hail storms and flooding (March 25-28): $1.2 billion
- North Central tornado outbreak (March 29-31): $1.9 billion
- Central tornado outbreak and flooding (April 1-7): $4.3 billion
- North Central tornado outbreak and severe storms (April 17-20): $2.4 billion
- Eastern severe storms (May 1-3): $1.9 billion
- North Central and Eastern tornado outbreak and severe storms (May 15-17): $5.9 billion
- Central and Southeastern tornado outbreak and severe storms (May 18-20): $2.6 billion
- Southern severe storms (May 22-26): $1.2 billion
- Southeastern and Central severe storms (June 5-7): $2.4 billion
- North Central and Northeast severe storms (June 15-19): $2.8 billion
These figures highlight a concerning trend: the escalating frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, alongside population expansion into vulnerable areas. The Los Angeles wildfires, in particular, were not just the costliest event of 2025 so far but also the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history, nearly doubling the previous record.
The Political Landscape of Climate Data
The cancellation of NOAA’s billion-dollar disaster program by the Trump administration was part of a broader pattern of cuts to climate science initiatives. President Donald Trump has previously dismissed climate change as a “con job,” and his administration has reduced funding for clean energy projects and challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas pollution. This stance has led to the effective cancellation of other federal climate projects, such as the climate.gov website, which now has a nonprofit successor, climate.us, formed by laid-off NOAA staffers.
The decision to halt NOAA’s disaster database was met with mixed reactions. While House Republicans had previously voiced “concerns about what they described as ‘deceptive data’,” Senate Democrats introduced legislation to mandate NOAA’s continued publication of the dataset, citing its importance for informing disaster funding decisions. A Trump administration official indicated that the program, costing about $300,000 annually, was cut due to “uncertainties in how it estimated the costs” and because it “serves no decisional purpose and remains purely informational at best.” They also suggested the data was used to “advance the narrative that climate change is making disasters more frequent, more extreme, and more costly, without taking into account other factors.”
However, Jennifer Brady, a senior data analyst at Climate Central, countered these assertions, emphasizing that the database has always considered factors like population changes and climate variability in its analyses. The program’s importance is underscored by its historical role, accessible via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information archive, which offers decades of critical insights into the economic impact of extreme weather.
The Unwavering Importance of Transparent Data
The resurrection of the billion-dollar disaster dataset by Climate Central is a testament to the enduring need for transparent, comprehensive climate information. The methodology employed by Climate Central rigorously mirrors NOAA’s original approach, drawing from various authoritative sources including National Flood Insurance Program claims, NOAA storm events data, and private property insurance information. This analysis focuses on the “direct costs” of disasters, encompassing damage to infrastructure, buildings, and agricultural output, providing a clear economic picture.
As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, and as communities continue to expand into high-risk zones, accurate and accessible data is more critical than ever. The commitment of organizations like Climate Central to maintain and disseminate this information ensures that the public, researchers, and decision-makers have the tools necessary to understand, prepare for, and mitigate the growing impacts of climate change on both the economy and society.
