"Members of the American Meteorological Society were briefed Wednesday about ongoing developments on the future of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which the White House has said it will break up."
"This week’s mammoth U.S. winter blast wasn’t the only storm affecting the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society occurring in Houston, Texas. Looming in the background of the meeting – and jumping into the foreground during an evening town hall on Wednesday, January 28 – was the fate of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, which the Trump administration is moving to dismantle.
Based in Boulder, Colorado, and sponsored by the National Science Foundation since its founding in 1960, NCAR (or NSF NCAR, as the center brands itself) is a premier national and global hub for weather, water, and climate-related research. Beyond carrying out its own work, NCAR manages aircraft and supercomputing resources used by many hundreds of scientists, and it collaborates with many public and private stakeholders.
“NCAR is great at engaging our communities with a focus on the next generation of scientists. I think losing that would be a tremendous loss,” outgoing American Meteorological Society President David Stensrud said at the town hall. Stensrud first worked with NCAR in 1989 as a Ph.D. student.
NCAR is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, or UCAR, a not-for-profit entity that also manages other programs serving the broad community of weather, water, and climate science. Between NCAR and its other activities, UCAR employs close to 1,400 scientists, software engineers, technicians, and other professionals. Hundreds of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers take part each year in conferences, fellowships, and other opportunities provided by NCAR and UCAR."
Bob Henson reports for Yale Climate Connections January 30, 2026.
SEE ALSO:
"What Americans Lose If Their National Center for Atmospheric Research Is Dismantled" (Eos)
"Scientists Push Back On Trump Plan To Break Up A Critical Climate And Weather Center" (NPR)
"U.S. Government Has Lost More Than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s Since Trump Took Office" (Science)
"Trump’s Greenland Threats Put Crucial Climate Change Research At Risk" (Bloomberg)
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