Signal Arctic climate report set for publication despite loss of federal support

Summary

NOAA ended its administrative support for the Arctic Report Card, an annual assessment first published in 2006, in August 2026 as part of Trump administration cuts to federal climate-science funding. The withdrawal means NOAA no longer provides coordinating editors, funds the report's web presence, graphics, publicity or peer-review coordination, though NOAA scientists and programs continue collecting the underlying climate data. The American Geophysical Union, representing tens of thousands of Earth and space scientists, announced it has taken over management of the report. AGU will publish the 2026 Arctic Report Card at its annual conference in December, the same venue where NOAA previously released it. Researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and other Alaska institutions remain prominent chapter authors, and recent editions have included analysis from Indigenous Alaska scientists and community members. NSIDC senior scientist Matthew Druckenmiller said that coming together provides a powerful platform of observational evidence to inform global decisions.