BOULDER, CO — The Trump administration has ordered the National Science Foundation to begin dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a major Colorado-based climate and weather research institution, prompting sharp concern from scientists, state officials, and the broader research community.
NCAR, headquartered in Boulder, employs roughly 830 people and received about $109 million in NSF funding in 2025. The administration’s directive would fully close NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory and relocate key functions such as weather modeling, climate research, and supercomputing to other locations or agencies. Officials say the effort is part of a broader push to eliminate what they describe as “federal climate alarmism,” while preserving only activities deemed “vital.”
Colorado leaders and climate scientists warn the move could significantly weaken research critical to the state and the nation, including wildfire behavior, drought forecasting, severe weather prediction, and aviation safety. NCAR operates specialized research aircraft and manages a powerful supercomputing center in Cheyenne that supports weather forecasting across the western United States, where climate-driven extremes are intensifying.
White House budget director Russ Vought said a comprehensive review is underway and that dissolution efforts will begin immediately. However, administration officials have not clarified how many Colorado jobs could be lost or how long-term research projects will be sustained. The restructuring also comes as the administration has moved to cut funding at NOAA and the National Weather Service.
The decision arrives as global scientific agencies confirmed 2024 as the hottest year on record, reinforcing the broad scientific consensus that climate change is driven by human activity. Researchers argue that dismantling a Colorado-based scientific cornerstone like NCAR risks undercutting public safety, economic planning, and U.S. leadership in climate and weather science.
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