U.S. climate data websites go dark | Science | AAAS

"U.S. scientists, state policymakers, farmers, and others who depend on up-to-date climate data on Thursday confronted an information blackout from federal regional climate centers across much of the country. “Unfortunately, all data and services offered under the base contract, including this website, will be unavailable unless and until funding is resumed,” a statement on the Southern Regional Climate Center’s website read.

“It’s a big deal,” says Jeff Andresen, a Michigan State University climatologist and president of the American Association of State Climatologists, about closures of the centers and their websites. “In terms of getting climate information to the real world, to the general public, they play a very, very key role.”

The disruption appears to be a temporary paperwork bottleneck within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rather than a policy decision by agency leadership, officials at several of the centers say. The centers are managed by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. But they are housed chiefly at universities operating under 5-year agreements. The contracts for payment are approved each year. The last annual cycle ended on 16 April...."