PCAST Releases Report on Enhancing Prediction and Protecting Communities Against Extreme Weather Risk

Today, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has released a report with recommendations to help Americans understand and prepare for the risks of extreme weather.

The report specifically focuses on the role that science and technology can play in informing and empowering communities, businesses, and government agencies to prepare, respond, and adapt to extreme weather.

PCAST recommendations:

• A federal effort to estimate the risk that a weather event of a given severity will occur in any location and year between now and midcentury. Extreme weather events include extremes of temperature, rainfall, and wind speed.

• The development of high-quality public and private sector tools to better measure and evaluate extreme weather-related risks across the country.

• The creation of a national plan that guides and supports investments at all levels, including funding research that illuminates which policy responses are effective and equitable for all communities.

PCAST’s recommendations reduce gaps in our understanding and bolster the quantification of extreme weather risks, enabling more effective policy decisions and providing Americans with the information they need to protect themselves.

To view a full copy of the PCAST report please click here.

To view PCAST’s Letter to the President and the Executive Summary of the report please click here.

PCAST is the sole body of advisors from outside the federal government charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President. Learn more about their work here.