Trump Administration Scraps Next-Gen Weather and Climate Satellites, Raising Concerns Over Hurricane Monitoring and Air Quality

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is revising the design and scale of forthcoming next-generation weather and climate satellites, according to two sources privy to the plans. This decision, made as hurricane season intensifies with Hurricane Erin impacting the East Coast, aligns with a broader trend of the current administration seeking to reduce both climate pollution regulations and data collection regarding pollutants.

The elimination of two planned instruments – one for air quality measurement including pollution and wildfire smoke, and another for high-resolution ocean observation – has been confirmed by these sources. One NOAA official expressed concern that this move could hinder enforcement and regulation of air pollution due to the loss of precise measurement capabilities.

The four satellites, known as the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO), will have a reduced cost compared to the initial plans under the Biden administration, with an estimated annual budget cap of $500 million per year, totaling approximately $12 billion over their lifetime. However, some experts argue that this lower upfront cost may compromise the benefits derived from air and ocean data.

“Our ability to understand complex weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, or droughts will be diminished due to the absence of these context-providing instruments,” the official stated. Both cancelled instruments were already under contract with BAE Systems, potentially leading to cancellation fees.

The administration’s focus on cost reduction is driving this change, in part due to the perception that certain instruments were designed primarily for climate change studies. According to a Trump administration budget document, weather forecasting should be the exclusive purpose of these satellites.

In addition to a reduced number of instruments, NOAA is now building only four satellites for the constellation, rather than six, with the first launch scheduled for 2032. This reduction in satellite numbers may lead to less redundancy and increased risk of critical data outages, as noted by the NOAA official.

“It’s a gamble with the continuity of an operational system we’ve relied on since the early 70s,” they said. The satellite series is intended to be the successor to the GOES satellites, providing vital data for weather forecasting from 2032 through 2055.

CNN reached out to NOAA for comment.

The atmospheric composition instrument, among those cancelled, would have allowed scientists to more accurately measure air pollutants, potentially reducing health risks associated with wildfire smoke events. It would also improve the United States’ ability to monitor and forecast air quality, track greenhouse gas emissions, and manage smog-causing pollutants.

According to an assessment conducted by NOAA and approved by the Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, this instrument is essential for understanding changes in air quality, the ozone layer, climate, and their corresponding impacts on human health and natural ecosystems. The absence of this instrument on GeoXO could lead to a decline in U.S. air quality monitoring capabilities, potentially threatening America’s long-standing leadership in Earth observations.

Another cancelled instrument was designed to measure ocean color, providing insights into fisheries populations, algal blooms, ocean productivity, and water quality. Although altering major satellite series is not unprecedented for NOAA or Congress due to a history of cost and schedule overruns in NOAA satellite programs, the cancellation of already contracted instruments, particularly in light of the administration’s determination to focus NOAA on weather forecasting rather than climate change observations and research, stands out.

The Trump administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes a plan to close NOAA’s extensive research facilities, including its greenhouse gas monitoring network, among others. Congress is currently considering this proposal.