Economic Growth in the Face of Weather and Climate Extremes: A Call for Better Data

The U.S. economy has grown to be the world’s largest, even in the face of the most varied and costly weather and climate extremes on the planet. In this journal article, authors point out that long-term data—across federal agencies and the private sector—on the economic damages from extreme weather and climate events is neither complete or consistent. They discuss the need for a new approach, with a body able to provide public and private leadership, to create and implement not only data collection and analysis standards, but promote free and open data exchange to better track the impact of weather hazards on our economy and societal well-being.