NOAA Shuts Down Billion-Dollar Weather Disaster Database

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it's retiring its well-known "billion-dollar weather and climate disasters" database, making it harder to track the cost of extreme weather events. This database, active since 1980, tracked the financial toll of disasters from hurricanes to hailstorms. Its discontinuation is seen as another blow to public access to information about how fossil fuel pollution is exacerbating extreme weather. While population growth and development contribute, climate change intensifies these events, increasing costs. The move follows staff reductions at NOAA leading to service cuts, and further budget cuts are proposed, jeopardizing future data collection and accessibility.