The Trump administration's relentless assault on climate data has sparked a crisis among scientists, who are fighting to preserve vital information and keep their research alive.
In the wake of President Donald Trump's brutal winter storm in January, he posed an incredulous question: "Whatever happened to global warming?" The ignorance behind this statement is compounded by rising temperatures linked to more extreme weather patterns. Climate change acts like a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to another - hot and cold, dry and wet. However, the administration's refusal to acknowledge the data on climate change stems from its desire to undermine the scientific consensus.
The Trump administration has been systematically purging government-supported climate science initiatives and data. The website climate.gov no longer mentions human-caused climate change, the National Climate Assessments have been removed from government websites, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research is slated for complete dismantling. Over 3,000 datasets collected by the government's constellation of science agencies are now either gone or severely tampered with.
In a bold move, scientists and nonprofit organizations have formed a network to save vital information and keep their projects alive. Organizations like Climate Central are successfully restoring operations for key projects, such as NOAA's U.S. Billion Dollar Climate and Weather Disaster dataset, by re-hiring the same scientists who were laid off by the administration.
"We don't have a ton of extra bandwidth to take on new projects or try to build things that have taken years to build for the federal government," said Kristina Dahl, vice president for science at Climate Central. "But something like the billion-dollar disasters data set is key data that many people rely on across different sectors."
Climate change has become a catastrophic unfolding disaster, causing an escalation of flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and other immediate shocks. In 2025, there was one billion-dollar disaster event in the United States every 10 days, compared to just 82 days in the 1980s.
The Trump administration's attacks on climate research have not gone unnoticed. The National Science Foundation, the EPA, and NASA are facing proposed cuts, which would hinder their ability to understand or mitigate the damage caused by climate change. However, nonprofit organizations like Climate Central are stepping up to fill the gap.
"We should strive to build a science infrastructure or a scientific foundation for this country that is responsive to the needs of the U.S. population," said Janice Lachance, CEO of the American Geophysical Union. "Not just in helping people conduct research, but also advocacy at the federal government level and maintaining a refuge where research cannot easily be deleted or overwritten."
The transfer of sovereignty over climate research from the public sphere to the philanthropic sector is a necessity born out of the administration's actions. Nonprofit organizations are better equipped to handle the complexity of climate change research, as they possess more flexible budgets and can avoid the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the federal government.
In an ideal-case scenario, scientists would be able to return to their work under a more science-friendly administration that reopens access to infrastructure like orbital satellites. However, for now, nonprofits are shouldering the burden of preserving climate research and keeping it accessible to the public.
In the wake of President Donald Trump's brutal winter storm in January, he posed an incredulous question: "Whatever happened to global warming?" The ignorance behind this statement is compounded by rising temperatures linked to more extreme weather patterns. Climate change acts like a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to another - hot and cold, dry and wet. However, the administration's refusal to acknowledge the data on climate change stems from its desire to undermine the scientific consensus.
The Trump administration has been systematically purging government-supported climate science initiatives and data. The website climate.gov no longer mentions human-caused climate change, the National Climate Assessments have been removed from government websites, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research is slated for complete dismantling. Over 3,000 datasets collected by the government's constellation of science agencies are now either gone or severely tampered with.
In a bold move, scientists and nonprofit organizations have formed a network to save vital information and keep their projects alive. Organizations like Climate Central are successfully restoring operations for key projects, such as NOAA's U.S. Billion Dollar Climate and Weather Disaster dataset, by re-hiring the same scientists who were laid off by the administration.
"We don't have a ton of extra bandwidth to take on new projects or try to build things that have taken years to build for the federal government," said Kristina Dahl, vice president for science at Climate Central. "But something like the billion-dollar disasters data set is key data that many people rely on across different sectors."
Climate change has become a catastrophic unfolding disaster, causing an escalation of flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and other immediate shocks. In 2025, there was one billion-dollar disaster event in the United States every 10 days, compared to just 82 days in the 1980s.
The Trump administration's attacks on climate research have not gone unnoticed. The National Science Foundation, the EPA, and NASA are facing proposed cuts, which would hinder their ability to understand or mitigate the damage caused by climate change. However, nonprofit organizations like Climate Central are stepping up to fill the gap.
"We should strive to build a science infrastructure or a scientific foundation for this country that is responsive to the needs of the U.S. population," said Janice Lachance, CEO of the American Geophysical Union. "Not just in helping people conduct research, but also advocacy at the federal government level and maintaining a refuge where research cannot easily be deleted or overwritten."
The transfer of sovereignty over climate research from the public sphere to the philanthropic sector is a necessity born out of the administration's actions. Nonprofit organizations are better equipped to handle the complexity of climate change research, as they possess more flexible budgets and can avoid the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the federal government.
In an ideal-case scenario, scientists would be able to return to their work under a more science-friendly administration that reopens access to infrastructure like orbital satellites. However, for now, nonprofits are shouldering the burden of preserving climate research and keeping it accessible to the public.
climate change is real folks, even if he doesn't want to admit it. those 3k datasets are like the breadcrumbs leading us to the treasure of sustainable living, but now they're getting lost in the woods because of this administration's crazy decisions. 
I just looked up some stats on global warming 
and it's crazy! Average global temperature has risen by 1.1°C since 1880 
, that's a huge jump! In 2020, we saw record-breaking heatwaves in the Arctic 
, and wildfires are getting more frequent and severe 
. Did you know that extreme weather events have increased by 40% since 1980 
️? It's no wonder scientists are freaking out over here! 
The US alone has seen $50 BILLION in damages from climate-related disasters in 2022 
, and it's only going to get worse if we don't take action soon! 
, that's like a snowball effect of climate chaos! And let's not forget about sea level rise 
, which is expected to increase by up to 1.1 meters by 2100 
. Climate change is real, and we need to take it seriously! 
this is gonna be a disaster... i mean, who needs government support for science when you got nonprofit orgs like Climate Central stepping in? its like they're just band-aids on bullet wounds, trying to keep the bleeding under control. and let's not forget those 3k+ datasets - what's next? gotta pay people to sift through all that info? 
I'm getting so frustrated with this whole situation! The Trump admin's actions on climate change data is just a huge cop-out 
. They're basically saying that climate change isn't real, which is just not true 
. But these nonprofit orgs are stepping up and filling the gap, which is amazing 
. We need a science infrastructure that can handle the complexity of climate change, not just some token efforts at the federal level 
. In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye on these nonprofit orgs and cheering them on for all they do 
!
I'm so worried about what's happening with our climate data 
. I mean, come on, we can't deny that global warming is real and it's having a huge impact on our weather patterns 
. The science is clear and we need to keep pushing forward with research 
.
. They're not just talking about the data, they're actually doing something about it 
. It's time to take a stand and say that climate change is real and we need to act on it 
. We can't let the politicians dictate what we know about the world and its future 
.