The Trump administration has made a decision that many experts say could hide important information from the public. Earlier this month, several official government websites that hosted major scientific reports on climate change were taken offline.
Important Climate Reports Disappear from Government Websites
These reports are known as the National Climate Assessments. They are peer-reviewed and prepared by a group of U.S. government scientists under the Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
These reports are meant to help people understand what climate change is doing to the United States. State and local governments use them to prepare for disasters like floods, wildfires, and hurricanes. They also give important advice on how to deal with rising sea levels, extreme heat, and threats to crops, forests, and water supplies.
For many years, these reports were freely available on websites like globalchange.gov, which was maintained by the USGCRP. But suddenly, these websites went dark. The White House then said the reports would be moved to NASA’s website to keep them accessible, since a law passed in 1990 requires these assessments to be available to the public.
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NASA Says It Won’t Host the Reports After All
On July 3, NASA released a public statement saying that all existing climate reports would be added to its website to ensure “continuity of reporting.” However, that plan has now been scrapped.
On Monday, NASA changed its position and announced that it would not be hosting the climate reports after all. NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens explained in an email that NASA is not legally required to host the data. She said that the USGCRP had already met its legal duty by submitting the reports to Congress.
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That means there is currently no official government website hosting the latest national climate assessments or the data used to create them. Stevens confirmed that neither the data nor the reports would appear on the NASA website anymore.
This change came just two weeks after the White House said the reports would remain online through NASA. Critics say this shift is confusing and possibly intended to keep people from seeing vital scientific information.
Experts Warn This Decision Hides Life-Saving Information
Scientists and former officials are raising concerns. They say the administration is removing important facts that the public has a right to see. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and a co-author of past assessments, said these reports are crucial for protecting people.
“This document was written for the American people, paid for by the taxpayers, and it contains vital information we need to keep ourselves safe in a changing climate,” Hayhoe said. She noted that disasters like wildfires, floods, and storms show why this information is more important than ever.
Some older reports can still be found in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) library. The latest report and an interactive atlas remain online in limited form, but they are harder to find than before.
John Holdren, who worked as a science adviser in the Obama White House and is also a climate scientist, strongly criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the reports. He accused them of purposely misleading the public.
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“In this instance, the administration offers a modest consolation to quell initial outrage over the closure of the globalchange.gov site and the disappearance of the National Climate Assessments. Then, two weeks later, they snatch away the consolation with no apology,” Holdren said in an email.
Holdren also stated that the administration doesn’t want the public to read the scientifically verified information. “They simply don’t want the public to see the meticulously assembled and scientifically validated information about what climate change is already doing to our farms, forests, and fisheries,” he said.
He also pointed out that the reports are written in a clear, easy-to-understand way. They are designed to help everyday people—especially local governments and families—understand what’s happening in their own neighborhoods.
The most recent national climate assessment, which was released in 2023, shows that climate change is affecting people’s safety, health, and ability to earn a living across the country. It also shows that certain groups, like Native American communities, are at greater risk.
Critics believe the Trump administration’s actions are making it harder for the public to access critical scientific data that could help them stay safe. They argue that decisions like this one show an ongoing effort to reduce the visibility of climate science.
