Former NOAA scientists rebuild climate data website after DOGE shut it down

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has hit 90 degrees or higher now four times this year, topped by last Wednesday’s 95-degree reading. Since 2015, SEA has averaged eight days of 90 or above per year. In the 20th century, that average was just three days per year.

Up until last year, anyone could look up this information and far more by going to climate.gov.

But back in June of 2025, an executive order shut down this public resource. Climate.gov was a flagship resource not only for raw climate data, but also for analysis and context. The website made all this historical weather data more accessible and easier to use and understand, especially for learning about the evolving environment around the country and the world.

The staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that maintained the climate.gov website was a casualty of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — the federal government unit focused on cutting federal programs and staff.

Climate data website revived

Many of those same staff felt it was critical to find a way to ensure all that important climate data was once again available to the public. After months of work to retrieve and organize that data, a new climate data resource is now available at climate.us/.

Climate.us recreated the previous “climate dashboard” found on the original federal government website. Not only are there many graphs and data that help illustrate the information each site visitor desires, but it also has climate expert blogs, climate news stories, visual reports on key climate data, data pathways, as well as climate literacy resources and classroom materials.

The revived website crowdsourced around $280,000 to initiate the effort. The group of former government staff also recruited volunteers, including nearly 80 scientists, to serve on the group’s science panel, assisting as subject matter experts to fact-check the website’s posted information.

Rebecca Lindsey, former program director for climate.gov who now manages the climate.us project, noted: “The philosophy of climate.us remains the same as it was in climate.gov’s heyday – just the facts.”

“Climate.gov was never about, and climate.us/ will never be about, telling Americans what to do about climate change,” Lindsey said. “The site will continue to be nonpartisan but will focus on the science and explaining science and showing people what the data show.”

Warming planet

So far this century, and even extending back into the latter part of the 20th century, the frequency of longer summer seasons across the nation and around the world, a greater number of heat waves, seemingly more and more wildfires, and periods of wildfire smoke reflect the ongoing warming of the planet.

During the past week, much of the middle of the country has been baking, with many locations suffering high temperatures well above 100 degrees. Dozens of wildfires were burning across much of the Western U.S. Europe has also been enduring excessive heat and wildfires.

Bringing it home

In Western Washington, the number of 90-degree or better days has risen since 2015 to an average of eight days per year at SEA. This year has already had four days of 90 or greater, with a good likelihood of more hot days heading into August based upon the latest weather outlook. In the 20th century, the average number of 90 degrees or hotter was just three days per year.

Wildfire smoke has already invaded parts of Western Washington this year, making it eight out of the last 10 years with decreased air quality from smoke. Prior to 2017, summer season wildfire smoke was quite rare.

To help illustrate how the climate is evolving, why it matters, and how it affects people and industry, the new climate.us/ website can offer many answers in an easy-to-understand manner.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. Follow him on X and Bluesky. Read more of his stories here.