Trump officials say they will dismantle ‘global mothership’ of climate and weather forecasting

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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado
• Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the center would be broken up over concerns about “climate alarmism”
• NCAR is one of the world’s most important hubs for climate science, weather forecasting, and atmospheric research

🔭 The context: NCAR underpins critical forecasting and disaster-preparedness systems
• Founded in 1960 and funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR houses supercomputers, climate models, and research aircraft
• Its data and tools are used globally for forecasting hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other extreme events
• Scientists, universities, and emergency agencies rely on NCAR outputs for public safety
• State leaders and researchers say they were blindsided by the announcement and fear long-term damage to U.S. scientific leadership

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Weakening climate and weather science increases environmental and human risk
• Dismantling NCAR could reduce accuracy in forecasting extreme weather intensified by climate change
• Slower or weaker climate modeling undermines adaptation planning for floods, fires, droughts, and heatwaves
• Global climate cooperation depends on shared, trusted scientific data, thus, the loss of NCAR capacity could ripple worldwide

⏭️ What’s next: Scientists, universities, and lawmakers are expected to challenge the move
• The administration says “vital weather research” will be relocated, but no details have been provided
• NSF and NCAR leadership are seeking clarification on scope, timelines, and impacts
• Legal, congressional, and institutional pushback is likely to increase in the coming weeks

💬 One quote: “Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet,” said climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe

📈 One stat: NCAR supports climate and weather tools used by hundreds of institutions worldwide, from U.S. universities to national weather services

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