The federal government will no longer update its database of the country's costliest weather and climate disasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been tracking extreme climate and weather events that result in more than $1 billion in damages since the 1980s. It has maintained a list with specific data on 403 separate events that have collectively cost communities in the United States almost $3 trillion.
Two disasters in Hawaiʻi have made that list: the Maui fires in 2023 and Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
On Thursday, NOAA announced it would no longer track that data and make it readily available.
That could make it harder for Hawaiʻi-based researchers to access clear information on future deadly disasters, said climate scientist Chip Fletcher, who serves as the interim dean of the University of Hawaiʻi's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
NOAA's data on extreme weather damages nationwide provided important context for climate research that scientists are conducting locally.
"What we will lose is a window into a national and global problem," he said.
Fletcher added that the value of NOAA's database is that it clearly demonstrated a link between climate change, extreme weather events, and economic loss.
"We've sort of thrown a blanket, a cloak of invisibility if you will, over this super important relationship," he said.
Members of Hawaiʻi's congressional delegation also condemned the decision to sunset the database.
Rep. Jill Tokuda called the move "an insult to millions of disaster survivors around the country."
Tokuda, alongside Hawaiʻi's other representatives in Congress, worked on recent legislation to provide tax relief to individuals who had experienced federally-declared disasters in 2023, including the Maui fires.
NOAA's database recorded 28 separate $1 billion disasters in 2023 — the highest number since the database began.
2024 came in second with 27 disasters. Hurricane Helene was the most expensive event with damages close to $80 billion.
The database has demonstrated an increasing frequency and intensity of costly disasters, which its analysis has attributed in part to global warming.
Sen. Mazie Hirono said that canceling NOAA's database will do nothing to address that trend or its consequences. She also spoke out against the Trump administration's promotion of fossil fuel use.
"The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to claw back climate change mitigation efforts and promote fossil fuels," Sen. Hirono said. "Burning fossil fuels contributes to more extreme weather, which in turn increases the frequency and severity of natural disasters."
Last week, the federal government tried to block Hawaiʻi from filing a lawsuit against the oil industry over alleged deceptive marketing practices around fossil fuels and global warming.
The Trump administration also recently dismissed hundreds of scientists who were working on the next National Climate Assessment, which is considered to be the most comprehensive report on how global warming is affecting the country.
Hawaiʻi climate scientists have called for state funding to ensure that research into the local impacts of global warming continues.
The University of Hawaiʻi has also launched a dashboard with real-time weather data from Hawaiʻi's microclimates. The developers say it could fill some information gaps if the Trump administration further restricts federal efforts to collect climate and weather data.
However, that project is currently dependent on federal funds, and the developers say it may need state dollars to stay operational if funding is cut.
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