NOAA releases 2026 fiscal year budget, looks to terminate or reduce over 50 programs/projects

ALABAMA (WHNT) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its 2026 fiscal year budget, which includes cuts and decreases for several key programs and projects.

According to the report, NOAA is requesting a budget of $4,515,302,000.

“The NOAA FY 2026 request will make critical investments to better enable NOAA to address current and emerging needs of the Nation. Through this budget, NOAA will help unleash American energy through initiatives supporting the marine mining market, leverage innovation in the weather and space enterprises, and enable and promote economic growth. Additional details are provided in the ensuing exhibits,” NOAA’s budget proposal says.

Some programs that are to be terminated or decreased, according to the fiscal budget, are:

Decreases

The National Severe Storms Laboratory

Sustained Ocean Observations and Monitoring Reduction

Tornado Severe Storm Research / Phased Array Radar Reduction

Science and Technology Integration Decrease

Polar Weather Satellites

National Centers for Environmental Information Decrease

Product Development, Readiness and Application Decrease

Terminations

Terminate NOAA Community Project Funding/NOAA Special Projects

Termination of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Terminate Federal Support for National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Habitat Conservation and Restoration Termination

Termination of OAR’s Climate Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes

Termination of OAR’s Weather Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes

The FY 2026 budget eliminates all funding for climate, weather, and ocean Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes. It also does not fund Regional Climate Data and Information, ClimateCompetitive Research, the National Sea Grant College Program, Sea Grant Aquaculture Research, or the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. Of the remaining funded programs, the U.S. Weather Research Program, Tornado Severe Storm Research / Phased Array Radar, the Joint Technology Transfer Initiative, High Performance Computing Initiatives, and Research Supercomputing will be transitioned to the NWS and Ocean Exploration and Research, Integrated Ocean Acidification, and Sustained Ocean Observations and Monitoring will be transitioned to NOS. These adjustments will allow these research programs to carry out research that is more directly related to the NOAA mission.

NOAA FY 2026 budget

You can read the full NOAA 2026 Fiscal Year budget here.

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