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(CNN) — The Trump administration intends to eliminate the research arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, close all weather and climate labs and eviscerate its budget along with several other NOAA offices, according to internal documents obtained by CNN.
The documents describe the administration’s budget proposal for 2026, but indicate the administration expects the agency to enact the changes immediately.
The cuts would devastate weather and climate research as weather is becoming more erratic, extreme and costly. It would cripple the US industries — including agriculture — that depend on free, accurate weather and climate data and expert analysis. It could also halt research on deadly weather, including severe storms and tornadoes.
The administration intends to make significant cuts to education, grants, research and climate-related programs in NOAA, the plan says, which the administration believes “are misaligned with the … expressed will of the American people.”
While the phrase “climate change” refers to the manmade influence on the global climate system via planet-warming fossil fuel pollution, “climate” in NOAA parlance is simply the weather that has been observed over time.
CNN has reached out to the White House and the Department of Commerce, which houses NOAA, for comment on the plan.
The plan “will put American communities in harm’s way,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This move has nothing to do with efficiency – and in fact, it will endanger our communities and leave us all more vulnerable to destructive and costly natural disasters.”
The plan cuts NOAA’s overall budget by more than 27%. It eliminates NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office and stops funding regional climate data, climate competitive research and sea grant programs. Overall, it cuts the research office’s funding by roughly 75%, and moves all remaining branches that used to be under OAR to different NOAA departments.
The research office includes the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which studies destructive storms, including tornadoes, and works to increase warning lead time. It also includes the Meteorological Development Laboratory, whose mission is to improve public-facing forecast and data products.
The proposed budget also severely defunds other key offices of NOAA, such as the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and transfers most of the fisheries service functions to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which sits under the Interior Department. The Space Weather Prediction Center, which monitors solar activity for harmful radiation events, would move under the Department of Homeland Security.
The internal Trump administration document says the National Marine Fisheries Service “should prioritize permitting” to “unleash American energy” from activities like offshore oil drilling.
The-CNN-Wire
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