The Commerce Department has paused the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) effort to model future rainfall extremes linked to climate change, leaving cities and engineers without critical data as storms intensify nationwide.
NOAA’s Atlas 15 project, designed to update national rainfall frequency estimates and model future precipitation under climate scenarios, has been stalled by the Trump administration.
The climate projections portion of the dataset — volume two — was nearly complete before being put on indefinite hold by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, despite its modest remaining cost.
Engineers and flood planners rely on NOAA data to design infrastructure that can withstand severe weather; delaying updates could mean outdated standards persist as flood risks rise.
Key quote:
“Designing our infrastructure for resilience is fundamentally a cost-saving measure.”
— Ed Clark, former director of NOAA’s National Water Center
Why this matters:
As global temperatures climb, the atmosphere holds more moisture, fueling stronger, more frequent storms. Yet many U.S. cities and towns still plan for floods using decades-old data. Without updated rainfall models, public works like bridges, culverts and storm drains may fail during the extreme weather events that are becoming more common. Federal data like NOAA’s Atlas 15 serves as a gold standard for engineers and regulators, forming the basis of building codes and long-term planning. Halting its climate projections leaves a gaping hole in national preparedness, potentially costing lives and billions in recovery. As record floods strike regions from Texas to New Jersey, accurate forecasts aren’t critical infrastructure in their own right.
As floods and storms intensify across the country, the Trump administration is slashing funding and staffing for key federal weather and emergency agencies, prompting warnings from disaster experts.
The Trump administration plans to close 10 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate and weather research labs, cut 27% from its budget, and eliminate key hurricane forecasting programs, including the Miami-based "hurricane hunters" operation.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already lost about a quarter of its full-time staff and $3.6 billion in preparedness grants; the president’s 2026 budget seeks to phase out the agency and shift disaster response responsibilities to the states.
Cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey’s river gauge program and NASA’s earth science budget are expected to degrade flood forecasting and weather monitoring nationwide.
Key quote:
“We are not witnessing a reimagining of federal disaster response — we are watching its demolition.”
— Mary Ann Tierney, former acting deputy secretary, Department of Homeland Security
Why this matters:
With climate change driving more extreme storms, floods, and wildfires, pulling funding and expertise from agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and NASA leaves communities more exposed. River gauge networks, storm-hunting aircraft, and round-the-clock meteorologist staffing are life-saving infrastructure. Without them, accurate warnings arrive too late or not at all, while overburdened state and local agencies struggle to respond. Rural and low-income areas, which often rely most heavily on federal help, could be hit hardest. These decisions come as billion-dollar disasters grow more common.
A major global wetlands report finds that humanity has wiped out over 20% of life-supporting wetlands since 1970, threatening water security, food systems, and climate stability.
A flagship global review warns that a quarter of the world’s remaining wetlands are in ecological distress, with massive losses driven by agriculture, industry, and urban development.
Wetlands are essential for drinking water, food, flood protection, and climate regulation, yet their economic value is routinely ignored in decision making.
The report calls for Indigenous and local community leadership, rethinking how wetlands are valued, and urgent investment to reverse damage and meet international restoration targets.
Key quote:
“Wetlands bankroll the planet, yet we are still investing more in their destruction than in their recovery.”
— Musonda Mumba, secretary general, Convention on Wetlands
Why this matters:
Wetlands are vital infrastructure: nature’s water filters, carbon sinks, nurseries for fish and rice paddies, and buffers against flooding and sea-level rise. When people pave over wetlands, drain them for agriculture, or pollute them out of existence, the world does not just lose habitat. It amounts to throwing away tools human civilization desperately need to survive climate change. Countless lives may depend on their restoration.
Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan is on track to become the first fully shuttered U.S. commercial reactor to restart, thanks to bipartisan backing and major federal and state investment.
The Palisades plant, closed since 2022, is set to reopen this fall with $1.8 billion in government funding, a new power purchase agreement, and strong support from local officials and residents.
Environmental and Indigenous activists oppose the restart, citing risks from aging infrastructure, radioactive waste, and a lack of consultation with local tribes.
The plant’s revival may set a global precedent and is being closely watched by operators of other shuttered reactors, including Three Mile Island and Duane Arnold.
Key quote:
“Not only is it making the people sick, it’s making the land sick too.”
— Jesse Deer in Water, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and member of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition
Why this matters:
As energy demand grows and pressure mounts to decarbonize the grid, nuclear power is gaining traction as a low-emissions option. But reviving decades-old reactors, like Palisades, raises questions about safety, environmental justice, and the long-term handling of radioactive waste. While newer technologies, like small modular reactors, are touted as safer, none are yet proven in commercial use. Indigenous communities often bear the brunt of siting decisions, without the opportunity to offer meaningful input. The Great Lakes, already facing pollution and warming threats, now face renewed scrutiny over nuclear activity along their shores. What happens in Michigan could shape U.S. nuclear policy and investment for years to come.
President Trump celebrated $90 billion in corporate investments to turn Pennsylvania into a hub for AI and natural gas, as environmental advocates warned it could deepen the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Trump and Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick unveiled plans at Carnegie Mellon University to use local natural gas to power large-scale AI data centers, with support from Amazon, Google, ExxonMobil, and BlackRock.
Protesters, including university faculty, students, and environmental groups, condemned the summit, criticizing its fossil fuel emphasis and potential harm to public health and climate.
Governor Josh Shapiro’s attendance drew backlash from progressives and green groups, who say his participation endorses a pro-fracking agenda that contradicts his prior record.
Key quote:
“It is really a tripling down on dirty fossil fuels for the U.S.”
— Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper
Why this matters:
Pennsylvania’s embrace of natural gas to fuel AI infrastructure raises alarms about the long-term health and environmental costs of doubling down on fossil fuels. Fracking has long divided the state, with studies linking it to increased rates of asthma, birth defects, and cancer. The expansion of gas-powered data centers — which require vast amounts of electricity and water — also risks locking the state into decades of fossil fuel dependence at a time when climate scientists warn of a rapidly narrowing window to cut emissions.
The Trump administration plans to shift regulation of coal ash disposal to states, a move that could slow or reverse federal cleanup efforts at some of the nation’s most contaminated sites.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in March that it will give states greater authority over coal ash management, potentially weakening the 2015 federal rules aimed at preventing water pollution from ash disposal.
Indiana, home to several major coal-fired plants, is seen as a test case; the state has pledged not to exceed federal minimum standards, despite widespread contamination from unlined coal ash pits.
Environmental advocates warn that if federal rules are weakened or enforcement lapses, states may deregulate to attract industry, reviving conditions that led to severe groundwater contamination in the past.
Key quote:
“The states had the option of regulating coal ash disposal for all the years prior to 2015, and what we got was abysmal. Most coal ash was disposed of in the floodplain in leaking, unlined pits that contaminated the groundwater.”
— Indra Frank, coal ash specialist, Hoosier Environmental Council
Why this matters:
Coal ash is a toxic byproduct of burning coal for electricity. It contains harmful substances like arsenic, lead, and mercury, which can leach into groundwater and rivers when stored in unlined pits — a method still widely used across the U.S. Despite longstanding awareness of its health risks, including links to cancer and reproductive harm, coal ash disposal remained largely unregulated until 2015. Shifting control back to states raises fears of regulatory backsliding, especially in regions with a long history of lax enforcement. In Indiana and other coal-heavy states, contaminated drinking water and ecological damage could worsen if cleanup requirements are weakened or ignored under the new policy direction.
Wildfire smoke, now a year-round hazard in North America, is linked to rising health risks — from asthma to cognitive decline — even as political fights stall coordinated responses and research funding.
New studies link wildfire smoke to immune system changes, memory loss, heart disease, reproductive issues, and increased emergency room visits for asthma. The smallest smoke particles can enter the bloodstream and carry toxic metals throughout the body.
Children, outdoor workers, and people with preexisting conditions face the highest risks, with children under five in low-income countries suffering the most deaths from smoke exposure, according to UNICEF data.
Amid ongoing wildfires, U.S. lawmakers have clashed with Canada over cross-border smoke, while proposed Trump administration budget cuts threaten U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air quality monitoring and wildfire smoke research.
Key quote:
“Outdoor air pollution is not just an outdoor problem. All of this penetrates inside the places where we live and work and go to school.”
— Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Why this matters:
Wildfire smoke travels thousands of miles and lingers indoors, transforming a distant disaster into a daily health concern for millions. Scientists warn that fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke can trigger asthma attacks, cardiovascular events, cognitive issues, and even impact reproduction. Children breathe faster and more shallowly, making them especially vulnerable. In low-income regions, the consequences are even deadlier. And as the climate warms and wildfires worsen, smoke will reach more communities, more often. The risk compounds when government response is delayed or fragmented, and when public health agencies are underfunded or stripped of critical tools. Without robust data and coordinated action, communities are left breathing the consequences.
