In today’s polarized world, the word “climate” can shut down a conversation before it even begins. For some, it’s a rallying cry. For others, it’s a red flag. These reactions often have more to do with politics than science. But climate services are something different. They’re not about forecasting the next century; they’re about helping people make smart decisions today.
At its most basic, climate is just the typical weather conditions in a place over time. It’s not a belief or an agenda — it’s the patterns we’ve recorded for decades, even centuries. Climate services take that information and make it useful, connecting long-term data with real-world decisions about farming, infrastructure, water and risk.
Climate services are the bridge between weather data and real-world decisions. They turn numbers into knowledge and knowledge into action. When should a farmer plant a new crop? How likely is a late frost? What areas are at risk for wildfire? How do we prepare for hurricane season or drought?
They also help us make informed decisions about our most critical climate-ensitive resources: water, soil, forests and food. Climate services connect us with the long-term data and trends needed to manage these resources wisely — not just in times of crisis, but every day.
In many ways, climate itself is a resource. A region’s typical temperature range, average rainfall, frost-free season or seasonal wind patterns all help determine how we use the land and where we invest in development. Tapping into this information — and using it to guide decisions about land use, water supply, energy systems and infrastructure — is a smart and responsible way to steward our environment and economy.
At the heart of this system are the six Regional Climate Centers, each state’s climatologist, and a wide network of academic institutions and state-level agencies. RCCs maintain and quality-check long-term climate records, create tools for planning and risk assessment, and offer expert guidance to local governments, utilities, farmers and landowners.
State climatologists work directly with communities, responding to everything from water board inquiries to drought declarations. In Alabama, the Office of the State Climatologist contributes weekly input to the U.S. Drought Monitor, integrating local observations, historical context and field reports from across the state. The Drought Monitor isn’t just a map — it plays a critical role in triggering drought relief and assistance payments for farmers and communities. For example: Was this August dry? Yes. In fact, statewide, it was the driest on record since 1895. That’s not speculation. It’s fact.
Climate service providers also work across a wide range of institutions, including university extension programs, state departments of natural resources, forestry agencies and local government offices. These providers are often the direct link between climate data and the people making decisions in the field. They count on timely, reliable access to data from the RCCs and other official archives to deliver trusted information to landowners, farmers, emergency managers and community leaders.
But these services are now at risk.
Despite their broad value, several RCCs — including the Southeast and Southern regional climate centers — are facing significant funding threats. These centers are a public good. They don’t push an agenda — they help communities prepare, adapt and thrive using sound data.
As of this writing, many of us in the climate services community have lost access to critical datasets that we rely on daily. Funding has lapsed, and the web services and data tools hosted by the RCCs have gone offline. These aren’t optional extras; they are essential tools for informing drought declarations, guiding water management decisions, and helping farmers and emergency officials plan ahead.
And to be clear: This isn’t about climate alarmism or political agendas. It’s about maintaining access to objective, long-term data that communities use every day to prepare, adapt and make smart, informed decisions.
Climate services aren’t about belief or political debate. They’re about preparedness. While climate change is a serious, long-term challenge that deserves attention, climate services are often focused on the practical, day-to-day application of climate data to support decision-making.
Farmers need context, not confusion. They rely on seasonal outlooks, historical comparisons and expert interpretation of forecasts to make planting and irrigation decisions. Emergency managers need risk assessments and trends to plan for heat waves, drought or flood. And our economy — rooted in agriculture, infrastructure and energy — depends on long-range insights, rooted in historical perspective, that help communities prepare, not just react.
Let’s make sure we continue to support the institutions that quietly help us all make better, smarter decisions. Cutting off access to climate services simply because they include the word “climate” is misguided and shortsighted. These services aren’t here to push an agenda or tell us what to think. They’re here to help us take care of the places we call home.
Credit: Lee Ellenburg/contributed
Credit: Lee Ellenburg/contributed
Credit: Dennis McDaniel Photography
Credit: Dennis McDaniel Photography
Dr. Lee Ellenburg is a research engineer at the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He also serves as the associate state climatologist at the Alabama Office of the State Climatologist.
Dr. Pam Knox is the director of the UGA Weather Network, a group of 86 stations around the state that have been recording weather and climate data since 1991. She is also an agricultural climatologist for the University of Georgia in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.
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