Trump administration moves to dismantle leading climate and weather research center
The Trump administration is moving to disband the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., one of the world’s leading climate and weather research institutions; Experts say the decision will undermine U.S. scientific competitiveness and leave millions of people vulnerable to worsening climate hazards.
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, made the surprise announcement Tuesday evening. Publish on X.
“This facility is one of the greatest sources of climate alarm in the country,” Vought wrote. “A comprehensive investigation is ongoing and vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another organization or location.”
The news sent shockwaves through the scientific community. The centre’s work is used by governments, universities, emergency planners and the private sector for forecasts and disaster response planning. Sophisticated Community World System Model It forms the basis of most international climate assessments and U.S. policies. The federally funded research center employs approximately 830 staff, making it one of the largest consortiums of scientists in the world studying weather, climate and Earth systems using advanced models and supercomputers.
“The Trump administration has targeted one of the United States’ leading centers for weather and climate research and modeling, threatening to destroy decades of public investment,” said Carlos Martinez, a former researcher at the center who is now a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Deliberately disbanding an agency so central to weather forecasting and climate change forecasting will not only undermine scientific research but also leave people across the country less prepared for the dangers of a warming world.”
A senior White House official confirmed the plan to The Times and said the National Science Foundation, which funds the center, would dismantle the facility to “eliminate Green New Scam research activities.” The center, the largest federal research program on climate change, serves as “the leading research bastion of left-wing climate mania,” the official said.
On Wednesday, National Science Foundation officials said the agency was “reviewing the nature of research and observation capabilities” at the center and exploring options to transfer management of the center. Wyoming Supercomputer Center “to a suitable operator”. The agency is also considering divesting two aircraft managed by the center and “redefining the scope” of its forward modeling and forecasting research and operations.
“NSF is committed to providing world-class infrastructure for weather modeling, space weather research and forecasting, and other critical functions,” the agency said. “To do this, NSF will engage with partner institutions, the research community, and other interested parties to solicit feedback for reevaluation of the functions of the work currently performed by NCAR.”
Although a White House official describes the center’s work as “climate madness,” changes in climate are occurring faster than many scientists predicted. The basic science of climate change is well established through decades of research.
It’s hard to overstate the center’s importance, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “There is no other agency like NCAR, not just in this country, but nowhere else in the world,” Swain said. briefing Wednesday morning. He feared that no other global institution could absorb all of his expertise.
Swain also called the administration’s decision “naked political partisanship” against the public interest. The center’s estimates “are not just useful or useful, they are life-saving and economy-saving,” he said, adding that closing the plant would be “an incredible, truly shocking, self-inflicted wound to America’s competitiveness.”
Swain and other experts said the loss of the facility would leave millions of people vulnerable to worsening climate hazards such as wildfires, hurricanes, tropical cyclones and winter storms. The Wyoming Supercomputing Center provides massive computing resources to national and international scientists to run complex weather and climate models and simulations.
In California, many universities and government agencies use data and modeling from the center for air pollution monitoring, water management, emergency planning and wildfire risk assessment, among many other uses.
Data and tools coming from the center are also used directly and indirectly by the private sector.
For example, the center stores large amounts of atmospheric data, Climate Data Guide And Community Earth System Model Large Community Numerical SimulationThat researchers, insurance companies, and even AI data scientists can access and use to train models, measure risk, and make predictions.
The aviation, energy and private weather forecasting industries all rely on data and tools developed by the center; These include a piece of technology known as. Bolt Alertused to predict lightning strikes and Maintenance Decision Support SystemAlerting snowplow and truck fleets to road conditions.
The $700 billion reinsurance industry also relies on the center’s data, tools and climate models to create financial instruments tied directly to weather or natural disaster risks, such as catastrophe bonds. Such tools rely on comprehensive and precise historical data as well as climate models to predict potential risk.
For example, reinsurance giant SwissRe credits the center’s work with the development of its proprietary forecasting tool known as CatNet. Disaster experts partner with the center to create globally validated hail forecasts, the company said in a press release about its products.
AccuWeather spokesman Bill Wadell said there was “no indication at this time” that the announcement to dismantle the climate center would impact his company. However, he said the American public and economy would be best served if “all sectors of the U.S. weather agency—public and private—work together toward the “common goal of best informing the public and protecting life and property.”
The decision to close the facility follows other efforts by the Trump administration to halt scientific research and change the public’s perspective on climate change. This includes lay off hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and cutting funding for scientific research. Earlier this year, the Trump administration also He fired hundreds of scientists Working to prepare the Congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment; and took down the website It contained previous reviews.
The announcement came as a surprise to Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Police said in a statement shortly after Vought’s announcement that the state “has not yet received information” about the plan.
“If true, public safety is at risk and science is being attacked,” Polis said. “Climate change is real, but NCAR’s work goes far beyond climate science. NCAR provides data on severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property and prevent the devastation of families. If these disruptions move forward, we will lose our competitive advantage against foreign powers and adversaries pursuing scientific discovery.”
When asked why the administration was closing the facility, White House officials pointed to so-called “woke” programs at the center, saying they “waste taxpayer funds” and “deviate from strong or useful science.” Rising Voices Center Aiming to combine Indigenous knowledge with Earth science, and art series He researched man’s relationship with water.
They also cited the center. Research on wind turbines sought to better understand the impact of weather conditions on offshore wind production. Trump has been vocal in his opposition to offshore wind and other forms of renewable energy.
