TOPSHOT – This aerial view shows destruction in Gerton, North Carolina, on October 7, 2024 after the … [+] passage of Hurricane Helene. More than 230 people are now confirmed dead after Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction through several US states, officials said, making it the second deadliest storm to hit the US mainland in more than half a century. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

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As 2025 approaches, I am reminded that we are almost one-fourth of the way through the current century. A new year often brings with it reflection and pledges of renewal. Within the past year, I have written about hurricanes, climate change, tornado movies, auroras, and science misinformation. Heck, I even wrote about storm petrels. Following the reflective theme, here are five weather or climate issues that are flying under the radar as 2025 approaches.

My thoughts are inspired by a conversation with Dr. Ethell Vereen, an ecologist and environmental health expert at Morehouse College. He told me, “In our nation’s history there have been times where there was a serious environmental problem, we recognized it, we actually did something about it.” He listed examples like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Deep Water Horizon oil spill and the ozone hole. He asked me, “What are potentially the three or five environmental issues that we collectively should be addressing that maybe not getting the most public awareness right now?” With such a big question, I decided to deal with a subset in the weather and climate disciplines, respectively.

I could certainly talk about the emergence of AI or machine learning, the increasing role of social sciences, the impact of climate change on economic practices, or potential headwinds related to energy transition. However, the five topics below may be a bit more subtle.

Mainstream Hostility Towards Scientists

This issue has always been a challenge for meteorologists and climate scientists. During Hurricane Helene (2024) and Hurricane Milton (2024), I noticed a more concerning pivot. Previously, misinformation and disinformation lurked in the dark corners. They were mostly in the fringe or dismissive parts of social media, blogs, and other forms of media. However, this year there was more mainstream hostility towards scientists who delivered sound science about hurricanes or the potential role of climate change. You would be surprised at how many people attending soccer games or PTA meetings with you may have been drinking the “disinformation or misinformation punch.” Science communication will be even more important as such elements fester, chip away at public trust of scientists, and infiltrate dissemination platforms.

Reduction in national air pollutant emissions.

EPA

Complacency

We are often victims of our own successes. As a society, for example, we no longer face certain diseases because of the emergence of vaccines. As someone who knew families devastated by the COVID pandemic, I am grateful for vaccines and other medical interventions that emerged. Along the same lines, the Clean Air and Clean Water legislation over the past several decades significantly improved our lives. The graphic above shows how certain air pollutants declined after the passage of the Clean Air Act. The original Act was signed into law in 1970. It was amended in 1977 and 1990, respectively.

Portland Avenue sewer outlet emitting sewage into the Mississippi River, Saint Paul, Minnesota, May … [+] 18, 1928. Image courtesy Centers for Disease Control (CDC) / Minnesota Department of Health, R.N. Barr Library, Librarians Melissa Rethlefsen and Marie Jones. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

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The EPA website pointed out, “The basis of the Clean Water Act was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. “Clean Water Act” became the Act’s common name with amendments in 1972.” Though certainly challenges exist, particularly in poor and marginalized communities, we mostly consume much cleaner water today.

Rhett Jackson is a professor of hydrology at the University of Georgia. He worries that people have become complacent to the value of sound environmental policy. He wrote, “Americans have come to take clean air and clean water for granted. Many don’t know we have these things because of professional agencies implementing these acts and enforcing regulations. If we don’t maintain these protections, we will go back to where we were in the 1960s.” He specifically pointed out that the first water reclamation facility was not built in Athens, Georgia until 1962. He went on to say, “Before that, rivers were waste disposal infrastructure, not amenities.”

As I reflect on what Professor Jackson is saying, it is relevant in other areas too. We knew for days that Hurricane Helene was coming because of advances in meteorological understanding, observational capacity, and computer modeling. What if all of sudden those resources are taken away or scaled back?

UNITED STATES – 26 SEPTEMBER 2024: Satellite image of Category 4 Hurricane Helene making landfall in … [+] Florida, USA, with powerful winds and heavy rainfall causing widespread damage. Relief efforts are underway to assist affected communities and restore power. Imaged 26 September 2024. (Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)

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Benchmarks Society Is Not Prepared For

Speaking of Helene, it left a path of destruction from the coast of Florida to the mountains of Appalachia. Here in Georgia, we likely suffered over $5 billion in agriculture and timber losses. Cities like Asheville were described as “climate havens” because of their location, but Helene produced over thirty inches of rainfall in parts of western North Carolina. Our climate changes naturally, but there is an anthropogenic stimulus on top of the cycle.

This fact presents a problem for individuals considering whether to evacuate a particular hurricane, companies deciding to build a new coastal facility, or agencies planning to put new roadways or telecommunications infrastructure in Appalachia. The DNA of climate change is already in our weather. We don’t have to wait for 2050. Here is the not so secret “secret.” It is likely going to get worse before it gets better, and that’s not playing the “worst-case” scenario card either. The peer review literature on extreme weather attribution is increasingly robust.

Assumptions and benchmarks about past heatwaves, hurricanes, and floods are not representative of our current (and future) realities. Here are some examples of what that looks like:

A person saying, “I lived through Hurricane XXXX in 1979 at this location so I should be good with Hurricane YYYY in 2024.”
A sports arena along the Gulf Coast designing its facility to withstand stronger hurricanes.
An agricultural company not adapting to the prospect that labor hours in fields may be reduced due to extreme heat.

Companies, government entities, and even our military will need to think carefully about mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies. They will also need to move away from assumptions of stationarity, which is the thinking that weather events in 2030 will be like the weather in 1960. Nope, it won’t.

TOPSHOT – A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane … [+] Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024. At least four people were confirmed killed as a result of two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton on the east coast of the US state of Florida, local authorities said Thursday. (Photo by Bryan R. SMITH / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

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The Emerging Education Landscape

There is a debate in this country about what should be taught in schools. History, civics, or basic science lessons are now being questioned, filtered, or even removed. Trends have alarmed experts who worry that personal agendas, beliefs, and ideologies are shaping curriculum development. Amanda Townley is the executive director of the National Center for Science Education. She shared, “For me it is the threat to progress made in climate change education that feeds action and policy in future generations.” While hopeful, she expressed concern that the coming years will be full of battles. She added, “We are already backing up data and focusing on our datawise tool to get it out far and wide to reach people how to navigate and recognize disinformation and misuse of data.”

The Future of Federal Weather – Climate Enterprise

As a former President of the American Meteorological Society and former scientist at NASA, I have watched the “ebb and flow” of the relationship between the federal sector and the private sector within the weather enterprise. Once more contentious, the ecoystem has evolved. Your local television forecast, weather App, and warning information depends on government satellites, radars, models, observations, and personnel. In all those functions, private contractors are critical contributors as well. However, the private sector can (and should) add value and innovate where possible. It is not competition. It is collaboration. NASA and SpaceX have collaborated for years in ways that many people may not actually understand. They leverage each other’s strengths. NOAA currently purchases new types of data from private companies to augment information in the weather forecasting process.

Fire, emergency, and police services keep us safe and enable protection of our property. They provide a public good without certain constraints that could limit availability of such valuable services. I view weather data, warnings and forecasts in a similar manner. Our lives and property depend on knowing about a tornado watch or if a flash flood is happening.

MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 31: NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan addresses the … [+] media from the National Hurricane Center on May 31, 2023 in Miami, Florida. With the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1, FEMA and NOAA officials spoke to the media and encouraged people to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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