Climate Data Vanishes: What Happened and Why It Matters

The Trump administration has taken down a key federal website that housed important climate science reports. These reports, known as National Climate Assessments, were created to help people understand and prepare for climate change. Without this website, access to these crucial reports has become much harder. Climate scientists are upset about this change. They say these reports are vital for making smart decisions about climate risks, like floods and wildfires. One former official even said this move "silences scientists" and "blinds decision-makers. " Another scientist accused the administration of "suppressing the science of human-caused climate change. " The reports are still available, but they are now hidden deep in other websites or through special archives. Some scientists have even taken it upon themselves to save copies of the reports and share them on their own websites. This isn't the first time the Trump administration has targeted climate science. In the past, they removed the head of the program that creates these reports. They also recently fired the scientists working on the next report, saying they were "re-evaluating" its scope. The administration has justified these actions by saying they want to use "Gold Standard Science. " They claim previous administrations presented science in a "highly misleading manner. " However, critics argue that these moves are just a way to downplay the seriousness of climate change.