2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

NOAA ended federal funding and coordination for the Arctic Report Card, jeopardizing its future publication

On August 10, 2026, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration informed editors of its Arctic Report Card — a peer-reviewed annual assessment of Arctic climate change compiled with more than 100 scientists from around the world over the report's 20-year history — that it was ending federal funding and coordination support for the publication. NOAA said the underlying data it has historically contributed would remain publicly available but confirmed it would no longer provide coordinating editors or fund the report's web presence, external peer review, graphics, or public rollout, leaving the report's authors uncertain whether the 2026 edition can be produced. The move follows other Trump administration cuts to federal science, including efforts to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the termination of the National Science Board.

Part of: Trump Administration Data and Record Suppression Campaign

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

On Monday, August 10, 2026, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration informed non-NOAA editors of the Arctic Report Card — an annual, peer-reviewed assessment of Arctic climate change written by more than 100 scientists from around the world — that it was ending federal funding and coordination support for the report, a decision first reported by Politico. Rick Thoman, an Arctic scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and one of the report's editors, said non-NOAA editors learned of the decision in a regular biweekly meeting with Arctic Research Program staff, who told them NOAA would no longer provide the report with coordinating editors or fund its web presence, external peer review, graphics, or public rollout. NOAA gave no reason for the change, according to two people familiar with the matter.

NOAA Communications Director Kim Doster said in a statement that "coordination of the 2026 Arctic Report Card will not be facilitated through NOAA," while asserting that all data NOAA has historically contributed to the report "will continue to be collected and will remain publicly available." Thoman said non-NOAA authors and editors are now trying to determine what happens to the already-underway 2026 edition, due to be finalized in about two months, and are exploring a "sustainable way to continue" publishing the report without NOAA support.

Last year marked the Arctic Report Card's 20th anniversary; it is typically released each December at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting and has documented findings including 2025's lowest recorded maximum sea ice extent in the 47-year satellite record. The withdrawal follows other recent Trump administration cuts to federal science, including efforts to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the termination of the National Science Board. Climate scientist Zack Labe, an author of the report since 2020, said discontinuing it "would create a significant gap in our ability to track and connect these changes from year to year."

Why we recorded this

Government data and scientific findings are supposed to reach the public regardless of what they show, not be withheld because they are politically inconvenient. NOAA ended the federal funding and coordination that has let scientists and the public rely on the Arctic Report Card, an independent scientific assessment of the fastest-warming region on Earth, giving no reason and leaving in doubt whether the 2026 edition can be produced at all. The withdrawal fits a broader pattern this year of the administration cutting federal science capacity, including efforts to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the termination of the National Science Board, and it removes a public evidence base scientists and policymakers have relied on for two decades to track Arctic climate change.

Sources

  1. Government Pulls Funding for the Arctic Report Card — Eos investigative accessed August 12, 2026
  2. Trump administration ends support for flagship Arctic climate reports — CNN investigative accessed August 12, 2026
  3. Trump administration will end support for key Arctic climate report — The Washington Post secondary accessed August 12, 2026

See also