The Trump administration ended federal support for NOAA’s Arctic Report Card.
Why it matters: The report is a key source of long-range Arctic climate analysis used by scientists, policymakers and the public. Cutting NOAA support could weaken a widely used federal synthesis of rapid change in a strategically important region.
- NOAA informed some scientists on Monday afternoon that support for the 2026 Arctic Report Card would stop immediately.
- The Arctic Report Card has been issued annually since 2006 and NOAA describes it as peer-reviewed and publicly accessible.
- NOAA’s 2025 report said the Arctic is warming far faster than the rest of the planet.
- The report covers atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and tundra across the circumpolar North.
The Trump administration has ended federal support for NOAA’s Arctic Report Card, according to CNN reporting republished in the PBS NewsHour ecosystem. NOAA informed some of the report’s scientists on Monday afternoon and gave no reason for the immediate suspension of agency support.
The Arctic Report Card is NOAA’s annual flagship assessment of environmental change in the region. NOAA says the report has been issued annually since 2006 and is meant to provide clear, reliable and concise information for scientists, decision-makers, teachers, students and the general public. NOAA’s Arctic Report Card
The archive on NOAA’s site shows editions from 2006 through 2025, underscoring that the program has been a standing federal climate-information product rather than a one-off publication. Report Card Archive
NOAA’s 2025 report said the Arctic is warming far faster than the rest of the planet and highlighted ongoing changes in the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and tundra. NOAA also says sustained observations and strategic investment are essential to understanding and adapting to change in the region. Arctic observing network assessment
The immediate impact of the funding cutoff is not that Arctic data disappear, but that NOAA no longer backs the annual synthesis and communication effort that turns dispersed observations into a peer-reviewed public report. That makes the move consequential for climate science, Arctic policy and public access to a long-running federal analysis used for planning in a rapidly changing region.
By the numbers
- 2006 - NOAA says annual issuance of the Arctic Report Card began that year.
- 2006-2025 - NOAA’s archive shows published reports across those years.
- 2026-08-11 - NOAA reportedly told scientists federal support for the 2026 report would stop immediately.
Yes, but: The underlying observations do not vanish, but the dossier indicates NOAA is ending coordination, editorial and communication support for the annual report, not the broader Arctic climate signal itself.
What's next: NOAA has not publicly explained the suspension in the dossier, and the 2026 Arctic Report Card’s status remains unclear.