White House to dismantle top climate research center

The Boulder, Colo., institution is vital to millions of people, according to scientists.

- BY HAYLEY SMITH AND SUSANNE RUST

The Trump administration is moving to dismantle one of the world's leading climate and weather research institutions, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., in a decision experts say will undermine U.S. scientific competitiveness and leave millions vulnerable to worsening climate hazards.

Russell Vought, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, made the surprise announcement in a Tuesday evening post on X.

"This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country," Vought wrote. "A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location."

The news sent shock waves through the scientific community. The center's work is used by governments, universities, emergency planners and the private sector for forecasts and disaster response planning. Its sophisticated Community Earth System Model underpins international climate assessments and much of U.S. policy. The federally funded research center employs about 830 staff, making it one of the largest consortia of scientists who study weather, climate and Earth systems using advanced models and supercomputers in the world.

"The Trump administration has put a bull's-eye on one of the United States' premier weather and climate research and modeling centers, threatening to destroy decades of public investment," said Carlos Martinez, a former researcher at the center, now a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Deliberately dismantling an institution so central to weather forecasting and climate change prediction would not only undermine scientific research, it would leave people across the nation less prepared for the dangers of a warming world."