The Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters tracker, long maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), chronicled major US catastrophes from 1980 to 2024 before it was abruptly shut down in May amid sweeping budget cuts that critics decried as an ideologically driven attack on science.
"This dataset was simply too important to stop being updated, and the demand for its revival came from every sector of society," Adam Smith, an applied climatologist who helmed the database for 15 years before resigning in May, told AFP.
Among those calling for its return were groups such as the American Academy of Actuaries, who argued the list was a vital tool for tracking the rising costs of climate-fueled disasters, from wildfires to floods, that threaten homeowners, insurers, and mortgage markets.
Congressional Democrats have also sought to restore the program within NOAA, introducing a bill last month that has yet to advance.
Now based at the nonprofit Climate Central, Smith said he worked with an interdisciplinary team of experts in meteorology, economics, risk management, communication, and web design over recent months to recreate the dataset using the same public and private data sources and methodologies.
The new findings, he said, show that "the year started out with a bang": the Los Angeles wildfires were likely the costliest in history, with insured losses reaching an estimated $60 billion.
That was followed by a barrage of spring storms across the central and southern United States, including several destructive tornadoes.
Altogether, 14 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters between January and June caused $101.4 billion in inflation-adjusted damages -- though 2025 as a whole may fall short of a record, thanks to a milder-than-usual Atlantic hurricane season.
Smith said his decision to leave NOAA stemmed from his realization that "the current environment to do science, across the board, is becoming more difficult, and that's likely an understatement."
But he added he was happy to give the dataset a new home so it can remain a "public good" and continue to publish updates at regular intervals.
Looking ahead, the team plans to broaden the scope of the tracker to include events causing at least $100 million in losses -- to capture the smaller and mid-sized disasters that still have "life-changing impacts to lives and livelihoods."
Norway's wealth fund to enlist AI for managing climate risks
Oslo (AFP) Oct 22, 2025 -
Norway's sovereign wealth fund said Wednesday that it would incorporate artificial intelligence tools into its investment analysis process to avoid losses stemming from climate change.
The sovereign fund, the world's largest, is sustained by Norway's vast oil and natural gas reserves, but it pushes the companies it invests in to take action against environmental risks including global warming.
In its new climate action plan for 2030, the fund's head of active ownership, Wilhelm Mohn, said AI along with its own analysis tools would allow it to "streamline processes and enhance decision-making".
"Data quality and availability has always hampered sustainable finance, and AI can really help us overcome it," he told journalists.
Managed by Norway's central bank Norges Bank and with a value of around $2 trillion, the fund urges the more than 8,600 companies it invests in worldwide to commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But it will also sell its stakes if firms generate what it considers excessive emissions, or it deems their operations too risky for the environment.
"Climate change remains a financial risk and that risk has only grown," said Carine Smith Ihenacho, the fund's chief governance and compliance officer.
Some activist groups welcomed the fund's new climate goals while urging it to do more.
"Much of the plan focuses on refining analytics, disclosure and engagement -- all important tools," said Brynn O'Brien, executive director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.
"What's missing is a shift from describing the risk to actively helping to reduce it," she said.
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