Latest news with #FifthNationalClimateAssessment
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Trump administration shutters major federal climate website
A major federal climate website has been shut down by the Trump administration, multiple agencies have confirmed with ABC News. The website of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which hosts numerous climate change reports and resources, including the comprehensive and often cited National Climate Assessments, is no longer operational, according to a NASA spokesperson. MORE: Hurricane season is here and meteorologists are losing a vital tool for forecasting them The U.S. Global Change Research Program's website was taken offline, along with all five editions of the National Climate Assessment and a wide range of information detailing how human-amplified climate change is impacting the United States. Although the National Climate Assessment is required by Congress, in April, the Trump administration announced it was canceling funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates the federally mandated report that's published every four years. All the authors working on the upcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, set for release in 2028, were also dismissed. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), comprising 15 federal member agencies, was managed by the White House through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. NASA will now take over, Victoria LaCivita, communications director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told ABC News. "All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring compliance with statutorily required reporting," LaCivita said, referring ABC News to NASA for more information. A NASA spokesperson wrote in response to an ABC News inquiry, "The USCGRP website is no longer active. All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting." Since mid-April, a small yellow banner has appeared at the top of the U.S. Global Change Research Program homepage, informing visitors that: "The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review." The Internet Archive has not recorded the website as being active since Monday morning. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, a breakdown of the latest in climate science coming from 14 different federal agencies released in November 2023, is the most recent version of these reports and provides a detailed, peer-reviewed snapshot of climate change's present and future impacts in the U.S., along with recommendations for adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, the U.S. Global Change Research Program site provided a wide range of educational resources, including interactive webpages, videos and podcasts that explained the far-reaching impacts of climate change in an easy-to-understand manner, even for the public. For example, late last year, a first-of-its-kind interagency website on sea level rise was launched by the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and hosted on the domain. For the first time, the public had access to a centralized, comprehensive online resource offering the latest research on sea level change, along with an interactive database that allowed users to explore how sea levels have changed over recent decades. As of Tuesday, references to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and various climate change impacts could still be found on other government websites, such as those of the USDA and EPA. And all of the National Climate Assessments remained available for public download, archived in NOAA's Institutional Repository (IR). MORE: USDA orders removal of climate change mentions from public websites Last week, NOAA announced that another federal climate-focused website, was also being shut down, saying, "In compliance with Executive Order 14303, 'Restoring Gold Standard Science,' NOAA is relocating all research products from to in an effort to centralize and consolidate resources." The agency wrote that future research products previously housed on the climate-focused website will now be under the domain and its affiliated websites. The agency posted its final updates to and its related social media account on Friday. Although much of this information may end up on various other federal agency websites, many climate scientists are voicing their concern and disappointment, stating that these actions are making it more challenging to find climate change information. Craig McLean, former assistant administrator of NOAA research, told ABC News that these decisions "create a gap in both the availability of and the opportunity to use valuable information that is essential to everyday life for the public and decision-makers alike." Haley Crim, a former NOAA employee who worked at the agency's Climate Program Office, said in a Bluesky post, "The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased." MORE: USDA orders removal of climate change mentions from public websites Crim elaborated that this is "not an organized attack like what happened with the DEI executive order. It's the culmination of expired contracts, decisions about individual products, lack of staffing and resources, and refusal to protect climate information.' "Every day is a trainwreck for climate science. Stay aware of what is happening, and speak out!" wrote Zach Labe, a former NOAA climate scientist who now works at Climate Central, in a recent Bluesky post. He said he had saved documents in advance of the rumors that the USGCRP program was being targeted. As of this writing, NASA has not provided any details on when and where the reports will be available again or if the new assessment will proceed.

01-07-2025
- Science
Trump administration shutters major federal climate website
A major federal climate website has been shut down by the Trump administration, multiple agencies have confirmed with ABC News. The website of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which hosts numerous climate change reports and resources, including the comprehensive and often cited National Climate Assessments, is no longer operational, according to a NASA spokesperson. The U.S. Global Change Research Program's website was taken offline, along with all five editions of the National Climate Assessment and a wide range of information detailing how human-amplified climate change is impacting the United States. Although the National Climate Assessment is required by Congress, in April, the Trump administration announced it was canceling funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates the federally mandated report that's published every four years. All the authors working on the upcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, set for release in 2028, were also dismissed. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), comprising 15 federal member agencies, was managed by the White House through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. NASA will now take over, Victoria LaCivita, communications director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told ABC News. "All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring compliance with statutorily required reporting," LaCivita said, referring ABC News to NASA for more information. A NASA spokesperson wrote in response to an ABC News inquiry, "The USCGRP website is no longer active. All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting." Since mid-April, a small yellow banner has appeared at the top of the U.S. Global Change Research Program homepage, informing visitors that: "The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review." The Internet Archive has not recorded the website as being active since Monday morning. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, a breakdown of the latest in climate science coming from 14 different federal agencies released in November 2023, is the most recent version of these reports and provides a detailed, peer-reviewed snapshot of climate change's present and future impacts in the U.S., along with recommendations for adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, the U.S. Global Change Research Program site provided a wide range of educational resources, including interactive webpages, videos and podcasts that explained the far-reaching impacts of climate change in an easy-to-understand manner, even for the public. For example, late last year, a first-of-its-kind interagency website on sea level rise was launched by the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and hosted on the domain. For the first time, the public had access to a centralized, comprehensive online resource offering the latest research on sea level change, along with an interactive database that allowed users to explore how sea levels have changed over recent decades. As of Tuesday, references to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and various climate change impacts could still be found on other government websites, such as those of the USDA and EPA. And all of the National Climate Assessments remained available for public download, archived in NOAA's Institutional Repository (IR). Last week, NOAA announced that another federal climate-focused website, was also being shut down, saying, "In compliance with Executive Order 14303, 'Restoring Gold Standard Science,' NOAA is relocating all research products from to in an effort to centralize and consolidate resources." The agency wrote that future research products previously housed on the climate-focused website will now be under the domain and its affiliated websites. The agency posted its final updates to and its related social media account on Friday. Although much of this information may end up on various other federal agency websites, many climate scientists are voicing their concern and disappointment, stating that these actions are making it more challenging to find climate change information. Craig McLean, former assistant administrator of NOAA research, told ABC News that these decisions "create a gap in both the availability of and the opportunity to use valuable information that is essential to everyday life for the public and decision-makers alike." Haley Crim, a former NOAA employee who worked at the agency's Climate Program Office, said in a Bluesky post, "The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased." Crim elaborated that this is "not an organized attack like what happened with the DEI executive order. It's the culmination of expired contracts, decisions about individual products, lack of staffing and resources, and refusal to protect climate information.' "Every day is a trainwreck for climate science. Stay aware of what is happening, and speak out!" wrote Zach Labe, a former NOAA climate scientist who now works at Climate Central, in a recent Bluesky post. He said he had saved documents in advance of the rumors that the USGCRP program was being targeted. As of this writing, NASA has not provided any details on when and where the reports will be available again or if the new assessment will proceed.


UPI
01-07-2025
- Science
- UPI
Nation's top climate science assessments removed from federal websites
The vital climate science information offered guidance to communities on the climate risks they face, as well as how to plan for and safeguard residents from climate-related disasters like floods and wildfires. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has quietly shut down a major federal website that hosted congressionally mandated national climate assessments, which were the U.S. government's preeminent reports on climate change impacts, risks and responses. The disappearance Monday of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website marked an unexpected loss in public access to the most crucial source for climate-related science. Also missing was access to previous National Climate Assessments, which are robust scientific evaluations used by lawmakers, scientists and the public to understand and mitigate climate change trends. Climate scientists condemned the missing access to the vital climate science information, which offered guidance to communities on the climate risks they face, as well as how to plan for and safeguard residents from climate-related disasters like floods and wildfires. Rachel Brittin, the former deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's external affairs office, said the removal of the website "silences scientists" and "blinds decision-makers." "Americans deserve facts -- not censorship -- when it comes to preparing for a changing world," Brittin, who served during the current Trump administration, said in a statement to Medill News Service. Patrick Gonzalez, a climate change scientist at UC Berkeley and co-author of the third and fourth National Climate Assessments, criticized the Trump administration for "suppressing the science of human-caused climate change because they are afraid of the facts, which disprove their erroneous opinions." None of the five previous iterations of the assessment was available through the Global Change Research Program website as of Tuesday afternoon. Clicking on the 2023 Fifth National Climate Assessment produced an error message. Archived versions of the assessments were buried deep in the Environmental Protection Agency website, but only via the agency's search engine. They also could also be accessed through the Wayback Machine, a non-profit Internet archive. Some climate scientists downloaded copies of past assessments and uploaded them to their own websites after the site went dark. The White House did not respond to a request for comment concerning whether the assessments would be available again online. In 1990, Congress passed the Global Change Research Act, which mandated the federal government to create the Global Change Research Program and require a report every four years on the current state of global climate change. The National Climate Assessment qualified as a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment, which Congress mandated in 2005 be publicly accessible. President Donald Trump targeted the Global Change Research Program in the past. Trump removed Michael Kuperberg, the former executive director of the program, from the position in November 2020. Former President Joe Biden reinstated Kuperberg as head of the program in July 2021, where he oversaw the fourth and fifth editions of the National Climate Assessment. In April, scientists working on the Sixth National Climate Assessment were relieved from their duties. In the dismissal email, the administration said "the scope of the [National Climate Assessment] is currently being re-evaluated." On June 23, the Trump administration released a memorandum directing federal agencies to incorporate "Gold Standard Science" tenets into their research. In an executive order in May, Trump decreed that science must be "reproducible" and "skeptical of its findings and assumptions," among other descriptors. The administration referenced the memorandum to justify deleting another high-traffic federal website for climate change information. redirected users to the NOAA website as of June 24. In the same executive order, Trump said previous administrations "promoted scientific information in a highly misleading manner." The executive order also said that federal decision-making under this standard would use the "most credible, reliable and impartial scientific evidence available."

30-06-2025
- Health
Climate change is making it harder for us to sleep: Study
Rising temperatures, amplified by climate change, are contributing to an increase in cases of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. "If temperature keeps rising the way they project it to, the burden and prevalence of sleep apnea may double, increasing by 20-100%, depending on greenhouse gas emission reduction," Bastien Lechat, the study's author and a senior research fellow at Flinders University in Australia, told ABC News. Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, affects about 1 billion people globally, and 80% of people who have it are unaware and untreated, according to the American Medical Association. Common symptoms of OSA include loud snoring, daytime tiredness, high blood pressure and headaches upon waking, even if "sleeping" eight hours, according to the Mayo Clinic. OSA has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, diabetes and depression. People with OSA also have two times greater risk of getting in a car accident, according to Lechat. The study followed over 115,000 people from numerous countries for up to two years, measuring their sleep quality with below-the-mattress sleep monitors and then cross-referencing this information with weather data to evaluate the relationship between temperature and OSA. When comparing 80-degree Fahrenheit days to days in the 40s, there was a 40 to 45% increase in the frequency or severity of sleep apnea. The risk was even higher for males and individuals who normally sleep longer or have higher body weight. Extreme heat can exacerbate OSA by making it even harder to sleep, the study noted. Higher temperatures can disrupt the body's ability to cool down during the night, which interferes with the natural sleep cycle. This can lead to more frequent awakenings, shallower sleep and worsened airway instability, resulting in more apnea events. Using existing health-economic models, the researchers estimated over 788,000 healthy years of life were lost or disabled in 2023 due to temperature-related increases in OSA, equivalent to a loss of approximately $68 billion, according to the models. "When you look at the rate of years of life lost per 100,000 people, this is similar to a disorder like Parkinson's disease, or bipolar disorder, or similar to low physical activity as a risk factor, so it's a significant burden," Lechat told ABC News. Lechat said that increased access to air conditioning and better diagnosis and treatment of OSA could offset some of the increases caused by climate change. As our planet warms, heat waves are becoming increasingly more common, having doubled in major U.S. cities since the 1980s, according to the federal government's Fifth National Climate Assessment. Overnight low temperatures are rising nearly twice as fast as afternoon highs, and this lack of relief during the night poses a significant health risk -- particularly for those without access to air conditioning, according to the assessment.


Axios
26-06-2025
- Climate
- Axios
How extreme heat can impact infrastructure
As unusually hot temperatures sweep much of the U.S. this week, millions of Americans remain under heat advisories or warnings. The big picture: While extreme heat can have burdensome impacts on our bodies, it can also have tremendous impacts on vital — and aging — infrastructure. Such heat can leave behind devastating consequences on infrastructure, from electricity outages to damaged airport runways and faulty rail lines, per the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a multi-agency effort. "We have all this infrastructure that is meant to make us comfortable in the urban area," said Edith de Guzman, a water equity and adaptation policy specialist at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. "But not only is that infrastructure exacerbating the heat, the heat is actually deteriorating that infrastructure." Zoom in: Extreme heat can impact various types of infrastructure including that of energy, transportation, buildings, water and even digital infrastructure, de Guzman said. Energy: High temperatures can increase energy demand with more people using air conditioning to cool down. That puts stress on the grid and can lead to brownouts or blackouts. Transportation: In terms of roadways, heat can soften asphalt which can potentially create safety issues and require more frequent replacement and maintenance. Concrete can expand, crack and buckle. For trains, rail made of metal expand and lead to tracks that buckle, which increases derailment risk. Bridges, too, can suffer from expansion of steel. Building: A lot of materials used, like for roofs and sealant, can degrade faster due to heat. Water: Underground pipes, including sewer pipes, can expand and shift due to heat, which could cause leaks and breakages. Machinery at pumping stations and treatment plants could become overburdened. There could also be an impact to water quality because pollutants can be concentrated when then there's less water due to evaporation. Digital: There's already a very high cooling demand for data centers under regular conditions. Heat makes those data centers more vulnerable to power issues and overheating. Equipment such as traffic signals, sensors and telecommunication can also become impacted as they rely on the electrical infrastructure that powers other digital infrastructure. Zoom out: All infrastructure is designed with some heat exposure in mind through codes, guidelines and regulations, said Mikhail Chester, professor at Arizona State University's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. But when extreme temperatures exceed that threshold, there are failures that, over time, can start to compromise the integrity of the infrastructure. Case in point: Roadways that are not designed for the extreme heat may see additional rutting and cracking. After enough cracking, there will start to be potholes from water intrusion. "Places like Arizona and Phoenix are more aligned with the extremes that we're currently experiencing," Chester said, adding that other places in the U.S. that are not specifically designed for the extreme heat are more vulnerable. But, he added, "nobody's spared from a heat wave and the consequences that it has on infrastructure." Between the lines: Human-caused climate change is making heat waves more likely and more intense, researchers say.