Click on climate.gov and you’ll find yourself redirected. That’s because the site has been officially shut down.
As of June 24, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) redirects climate.gov to the organization’s homepage, noaa.gov.
“In compliance with Executive Order 14303 (“Restoring Gold Standard Science”), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s June 23, 2025 Memorandum (“Agency Guidance for Implementing Gold Standard Science in the Conduct & Management of Scientific Activities”), 15 USC § 2904 (“National Climate Program”), 15 USC § 2934 (“National Global Change Research Plan”), and 33 USC § 893a (“NOAA Ocean and Atmospheric Science Education Programs”), you have been redirected to NOAA.gov,” the website banner reads. “Future research products previously housed under Climate.gov will be available at NOAA.gov/climate and its affiliate websites.”
The Guardian spoke with a former government contractor, who remained anonymous for fear of retaliation, about the changes. They said “the entire content production staff at climate.gov (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May.”
The former program manager of the website, Rebecca Lindsey, told The Guardian the site was supported by NOAA scientists and received hundreds of thousands of visits monthly. Lindsey shared the site was part of NOAA’s science wing rather than its public affairs. As a result, it was affected by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts.
Lindsey said she was fired in February as part of those cuts.
“We operated exactly how you would want an independent, non-partisan communications group to operate,” Lindsey told The Guardian. “It does seem to be part of this sort of slow and quiet way of trying to keep science agencies from providing information to the American public about climate.”
In early June, a bipartisan coalition introduced a bill aimed at hiring within another branch of NOAA, the National Weather Service. The bill grants the power to directly hire meteorologists, general physical scientists, hydrologists, computer specialists and electronic technicians.
“The National Weather Service has long provided critical weather data and forecasts used by the media and public across the United States. Granting them direct hiring authority will ensure that previous and future workforce shortages can be addressed quickly, helping to minimize disruptions,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said in a statement. “Thank you to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of this legislation and I look forward to working together to ensure that the agency continues to deliver the forecasts Americans rely on every day.”
Straight Arrow News reached out to NOAA for comment.
