A Higher Standard For Climate Risk Modeling?

Business relies on a suite of tools to weigh risks from heat, flood, & other hazards. The White House wants next-generation climate analytics to be more transparent, reliable, and easier to access.

Lately it seems there's nowhere to hide from troublesome weather. The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record by a wide margin¹, and many local records have been smashed, including in China a scorching new highest-ever reported temperature of 52.2 °C (126 °F)². Despite Canada's deserved reputation as a cold climate country, for much of the summer many of its cities have been enveloped by thick smoke from an unprecedented wildfire season farther north³. In the wet tropics of central Panama, the usual summer rains never arrived, pushing water levels in the Canal to an all-time low and shipping rates to record highs⁴. And in Minneapolis where I live, the Twin Cities Marathon - scheduled for October 1 - was cancelled with only two hours' notice due to dangerous heat⁵.