Global outcry as 2 key US govt websites on climate change get taken down

The Trump administration has made moves in recent weeks to shutter two US government websites housing global resources on climate science.

- Angelica Ang

Climate.gov, a website which supported public education in climate science, was the first to be taken down on June 24.

This came a month after its entire team of employees was let go on May 31, in line with the Trump administration's broader budget cuts to science funding, The Guardian reported.

The site, which was housed under the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was run by a team of about 10 staff, who put out editorial content to educate the public about the climate, The Guardian's report added.

One of its key features was the global climate dashboard, which tracked changes in climate change indicators — including sea and arctic ice levels, carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas levels, and average surface temperature — over time.

Checks by The Sunday Times on July 5 showed that keying in the website's URL now redirects users to noaa.gov/climate, where a brief message informs users of the former site's closure.

The social media pages affiliated with the site, through which bite-sized information on climate were shared, also uploaded their final posts on June 28.