Image: from Russell Vought X@the_russvought
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the global scientific community, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced intentions to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Based in Boulder, Colorado, NCAR is widely considered the world’s premier Earth-science center, providing the essential modeling and observations that underpin global climate research.
The announcement came via a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Russell Vought, Trump’s budget director, who labeled the facility “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.” A subsequent White House statement further characterized the center as a “stronghold for left-wing climate lunacy.”
The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. pic.twitter.com/xqTPLS6nsh
— Russell Vought (@the_russvought) December 17, 2025
According to the administration’s plan, first reported by USA Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will break up NCAR to eliminate what the White House calls “Green New Scam research activities.” While the climate-focused portfolio faces termination, the administration claims that “vital functions” such as weather modeling and supercomputing will be relocated or moved under the purview of other entities.
I am deeply alarmed by reports that the Trump administration plans to pull funding for freight safety and dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR is a global leader in earth systems science, and its work is essential to protecting lives, strengthening… pic.twitter.com/KR2BvHga9y
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 17, 2025
Antonio Busalacchi, president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), the consortium that operates NCAR, confirmed that the NSF has already sent a letter of intent regarding the breakup. The letter reportedly discusses the divestment or transfer of major assets, including:
- NCAR’s specialized research aircraft fleet.
- The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne.
“Morale is terrible,” Busalacchi told the journal Nature. However, the plan faces significant political hurdles. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who represents Boulder, vowed to fight the directive “with every legal tool we have,” noting that Congress ultimately sets the federal budget and can mandate the government to fund the center.
The scientific community has reacted with alarm, with many researchers using the hashtag #SaveNCAR to organize. Katharine Hayhoe, a prominent climate scientist at Texas Tech University, described the move as “taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet,” calling the lab the “global mothership” of atmospheric science.
The potential loss extends beyond climate change studies. Since its establishment in 1960, NCAR has pioneered technologies that are now essential to daily life, such as:
- Modern Dropwindsondes: Instruments released from aircraft that revolutionized hurricane forecasting.
- Global Weather Modeling: Systems used by agencies worldwide to predict severe weather events.
“If you cancel this, you will devastate atmospheric science,” said a former NSF official. “That’s different from other sciences that are more distributed. NCAR provides resources that no single university can afford on its own.”
UCAR currently operates under a 2023 agreement with the NSF worth $938 million over five years. Canceling this award would effectively eliminate the majority of NCAR’s annual budget, potentially ending a 65-year legacy of American leadership in atmospheric science.