Editors push to publish 2026 Arctic Report Card after NOAA drops support

NOAA suspended all support for the Arctic Report Card on Monday, ending two decades of federal backing for the annual assessment. The scientists who edit it say they are now trying to publish the 2026 edition without the agency.

The report is the annual peer-reviewed assessment of Arctic change. It draws on essays from researchers who track surface air temperature, sea ice, snow cover and ocean conditions across the region. NOAA has supported its production since 2006. The 2025 edition documented the warmest Arctic water year on record, with annual temperatures 1.60 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 mean.

The editorial team includes Matthew Druckenmiller and Twila Moon of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, along with this year's lead editor, a 30-year NOAA employee who writes the Alaska and Arctic Climate newsletter.

"I am devastated by this development, having worked for NOAA for 30 years," the lead editor wrote in the newsletter Wednesday. The editor said there had been "an outpouring of support for the Report Card, from essay authors to large organizations" in the 72 hours after the decision. The team has been working to produce a "sans NOAA" version, though the editor cautioned that the details of how to do that are still being worked out.

Production for 2026 was already well underway when the team was informed. "Just today it's looking more likely we'll be able to produce a timely, peer-reviewed Arctic Report Card 2026," the lead editor wrote, adding optimism about a path to continue in 2027 and beyond.

The decision comes amid broader pressure on federal climate and Arctic science. Proposed NOAA budget and program cuts target research, cooperative institutes and climate-related work that feeds Arctic data products used in Alaska.

NOAA Communications Director Kim Doster said in a statement to ABC News on Aug. 11 that "coordination of the 2026 Arctic Report Card will not be facilitated through NOAA" and that "all data historically contributed by NOAA to the product will continue to be collected and will remain publicly available." The agency said its Arctic research will keep supporting work tied to navigation safety, weather prediction and coastal community economies.

Ocean Conservancy said in an Aug. 11 press release that the administration is ending support for a report that has provided "critical reporting on the state of the region for more than 20 years."