NOAA Ends All Support for the Arctic Report Card, the 20-Year Climate Record It Has Published Since 2006

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the authors of the Arctic Report Card on Aug. 10, 2026 that it was ending all agency support for the publication, effective immediately. Rick Thoman, lead editor of the 2026 edition, told The Hill that "we were informed in a phone call with NOAA yesterday that effective immediately NOAA was ending all support for the Arctic Report Card," and that "no rationale was given at all." The report has appeared every year since 2006, including in 2025 under this administration. NOAA had supplied graphics, formatting, peer-review coordination, hosting and a press rollout; it told CNN it would keep collecting and publishing the data.

The report is a peer-reviewed annual synthesis its authors describe as observational rather than predictive or policy-oriented. Withdrawing coordination does not suppress the data, but removes the federal infrastructure that assembled and quality-controlled it, shifting that burden onto volunteers. It follows other federal climate-science cuts, including the dismissal of the National Climate Assessment authors and the proposed repeal of the EPA endangerment finding.

Thoman said the authors are trying to assemble a December release independently while preserving peer review. NOAA did not respond to The Hill's request for comment.