LEADERS' OUTLOOK
Our Planet is Incredibly Complex and Ever Changing BY DR. STEPHEN VOLZ
Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services, NOAA
ANNUAL EDITION / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
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ear 2020 was among the three warmest years in records dating back to the mid-1800s, even with a cooling La Niña influence in the second half of the year, setting new high-temperature records globally. The 31st annual State of the Climate Report for 2020, which was led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and published by the American Meteorological Society in August 2021, also found that the major indicators of climate change continued to reflect trends consistent with a warming planet. Several markers such as sea level, ocean heat content, and permafrost once again broke records set just one year prior. Notably, CO2 levels in the atmosphere reached record highs in 2020, even with an estimated 6-7 percent reduction of CO2 emissions due to the economic slowdown from the global pandemic. The effects of climate change are there for all to see now. Both 2020 and 2021 were among the most devastating in terms of extreme weather events. In the United States alone, there were 20 weather and climate disasters in 2021, while 2020 recorded billion-dollar events, the highest number of disasters recorded in the country in a calendar year. Overall, these 20 disasters in the year 2021 resulted in the deaths of 688 people — the most number
of disaster-related fatalities since 2011 and more than double the 262 recorded in 2020. Total damages from these 20 disasters were approximately USD 145 billion. The number and cost of disasters have been increasing over time due to a combination of increased exposure (that is, values at risk of possible loss), vulnerability (that is, where we build and how we build), and climate change, which is increasing the frequency of some types of extremes that lead to billion-dollar disasters. More specifically, these trends are further complicated by the fact that much of the growth has taken place in vulnerable areas like coasts and river floodplains. NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service is responsible for one of the most comprehensive data holdings on Earth. We archive and provide access to data and information from the surface of the sun to the bottom of the ocean. Some of our data records extend back millions of years, while we also serve real-time satellite observations to users. Understanding past environmental conditions is paramount to putting current events and future projections into a proper historical and climatic context. Our Earth Observation (EO) data provides critical inputs for climate projections, which allows us to better prepare for a changing world. We provide the foundational data that allows policy- and decision-makers at all levels to make informed decisions based on past, current, and future environmental conditions.
A favorable policy environment
The policy environment in the US has provided enhanced opportunities for federal agencies to work collaboratively on issues of critical importance to the country, from the fires in the West to our changing climate. We are pursuing multiple policy advancements in data sharing, in environmental justice, in Space operations standards and orbital debris management, in collective climate observations, and climate change mitigation monitoring. This is a lot to process all at once, but it is reflective of the clear national and global awareness of the critical value Space provides to address these challenges. Each of these initiatives has an immediate audience or set of participants, both inside and
