The White House has unveiled a new website-based app, the Climate Data Initiative, to help explain the science behind climate change and draw attention to the immediacy of the threat.

"This effort will help give communities across America the information and tools they need to plan for current and future climate impacts," John Podesta and John Holdren said in a statement announcing the new website. Podesta heads up President Obama's political efforts on climate change. Holdren is a White House science adviser.

It comes at a critical time, officials say. They point to the fact that in 2012, extreme weather events in the U.S. caused more than $110 billion in damages and claimed more than 300 lives.

The launch comes during