As a retired National Weather Service meteorologist with two degrees in atmospheric science, I was outraged to read the Trump Administration has proposed the elimination of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado. This center has provided high quality atmospheric research in the U.S. since its establishment in 1960. According to NCAR, the organization advances atmospheric science breakthroughs by providing the research community with leading-edge modeling, observational tools and computing resources.

The elimination of NCAR is part of Trump’s strategy to limit climate change research and actions to reverse this dangerous reality. The great majority of the most qualified scientists in my field believe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, much of which come from burning dirty fossil fuels like oil and gas, are responsible for climate change/global warming/an increase in weather-related disasters and that urgent action to reduce these emissions is necessary to avoid the worst impacts. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports the concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide reached an all time high 430.5 parts per million in May 2025 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. (NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory shows the current atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases at https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also concluded that human activity (burning fossil fuels, deforestation and land use changes) is the cause of these increasing concentrations.

Consistent with the increasing greenhouse gases, the World Meteorological Organization reports 2024 was the warmest year and 2015-2024 was the warmest 10-year period in terms of global average temperature since at least the 1880s. NOAA indicates 2025 will likely end up as the second or third warmest year on record (2023 is currently the second warmest). In addition to this global warming, climate change has increased the probability of extreme weather events. In September 2022, the World Meteorological Organization issued a report stating the number of weather-related disasters has increased fivefold over the last 50 years, resulting in an average of 115 fatalities and $200 million damage every day around the world.

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has prioritized support for the fossil fuel industry over the well-being of our planet, environment and climate. I urge your readers to contact our congressional representatives by visiting their websites or calling 202-224-6221 for Senator Peters, 202-224-4822 for Senator Slotkin and 202-225-4735 for Rep. Jack Bergman to urge them to oppose the proposed elimination of NCAR and support actions to slow the dangerous climate change that is increasing global warming as well as the likelihood of more weather-related disasters.