This post explains the revival of the U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database, now managed by the nonprofit Climate Central. It outlines what the first update tells us about the growing economic impacts of extreme weather in 2025.
It summarizes the database’s return after being discontinued by the Trump administration. The post also covers key findings from the first half of 2025 and the broader implications for insurers, policymakers, and communities.
Revival of an essential tracking tool
The database, originally managed by NOAA, was discontinued in May and has been resurrected by Climate Central using the same methodology to maintain continuity in long-term records.
Its restoration reflects urgent demand from stakeholders who rely on consistent, transparent data to assess risk, set premiums, inform infrastructure planning, and guide emergency management.
As the curator of this dataset, Climate Central has appointed Adam Smith, the former NOAA economist who previously ran the database, to oversee the effort.
This ensures institutional knowledge and methodological consistency.
Key findings from the first update
The first update under Climate Central reports that the first half of 2025 was the costliest on record since 1980, with total losses of $101.4 billion.
During this six-month span there were 14 billion-dollar disasters, highlighted by the record-setting $61.2 billion Los Angeles wildfires in January and a major tornado outbreak in March.
Notably, severe storms—not hurricanes—dominated economic losses so far in 2025.
- $101.4 billion total losses in H1 2025.
- 14 events costing at least $1 billion each.
- $61.2 billion Los Angeles wildfires (January 2025).
- Major March tornado outbreak among the leading events.
Why this matters for risk assessment and planning
Consistent, transparent disaster accounting is not just academic—it’s the backbone of sound risk management.
Insurers, state planners, and local governments use this dataset to model exposure, price risk, plan resilient infrastructure, and prioritize mitigation investments.
Adam Smith stresses that while climate change amplifies the frequency and intensity of many extreme weather events, the rising economic toll is also driven by population growth and expanded development in vulnerable coastal, floodplain, and wildfire-prone areas.
Trends and what to watch next
The database shows the U.S. has averaged 24 billion-dollar disasters per year over the past five years, nearly double the long-term average of nine per year.
The previous high was 28 events in 2023.
For practitioners and communities, the takeaway is clear: quantify exposure, invest in mitigation (from zoning and building codes to nature-based defenses), and update insurance and emergency plans to reflect current realities.
The revived database provides an indispensable, evidence-based foundation for those actions.
Here is the source article for this story: The federal government used to keep track of extreme weather disasters. Now it’s up to a nonprofit