A New Digital Resource for Climate Data Emerges Amidst Past Website Shutdowns
As climate change becomes an increasingly pressing issue, a new website, Climate.us, has launched to provide reliable climate information to scientists, educators, farmers, and the general public. This service fills the gap left by the closure of a previous government-run site under the Trump administration.
The creators of Climate.us are former employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the leading U.S. agency for climate science. These individuals previously worked on Climate.gov before layoffs occurred due to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) budget cuts.
Previously, Climate.gov served nearly 1 million monthly visitors, offering official government climate data. Despite data still being available on government servers, locating it has become challenging, according to Rebecca Lindsey, former program director for Climate.gov and now leading the Climate.us initiative. She, along with other former NOAA employees, began reconstructing the site in August 2025.
“This information is too important. It should remain in a protected place,” Lindsey says.
NOAA’s current climate page states: “In compliance with Executive Order 14303 … Future research products previously housed under Climate.gov will be available at NOAA.gov/climate and its affiliate websites.” This was reiterated by NOAA Communications Director Kim Doster when contacted for comment.
A Limited Access Issue
Lindsey likened NOAA’s recent changes to a store renovation where “the front door open into a closet.” To establish Climate.us, her team raised $280,000 and enlisted volunteers, including 80 scientists for fact-checking. An anonymous donor’s grant will sustain the project until at least February 2027.
The public nature of NOAA’s climate data simplified the creation of Climate.us, but technical challenges, such as developing a cost-effective search function, posed difficulties. Lindsey stated, “The technical issues were more challenging than the content issues.”
Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University, expressed reliance on Climate.gov for its accessible and accurate information. She noted that Climate.us helps bridge the gap left by the former site, making climate information more accessible.
“They’re really helping people connect what’s happening at the global scale to how it matters to their lives,” Hayhoe said.
Gretchen Gehrke from the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) praised Climate.gov’s role in making climate data accessible to the public and policymakers. She believes Climate.us is a successful outcome of expertise now outside the government.
Preserving the Original Site’s Mission
Climate.us retains features from its predecessor, including a “climate dashboard” with key climate change graphs, climate news, expert blogs, and educational resources.
Lindsey emphasized that Climate.us will maintain a nonpartisan stance, focusing solely on scientific facts. “Climate.gov was never about — and Climate.us will never be about — telling Americans what to do about climate change,” she stated.
Recently, the White House retracted plans to remove data-collection buoys from the Pacific, highlighting ongoing challenges in climate data availability. Gehrke expressed concern over the “quiet discontinuation” of data and sees Climate.us as a crucial resource for oversight.
While discussions about the future role of Climate.us continue, Lindsey sees merit in maintaining its independence from political influence. “The fact that they got rid of it so easily is proof that we shouldn’t make it vulnerable again,” she asserts.
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