Trump’s shuttering of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is Stalinist

‘The administration’s war on climate researchers helps shield oil and gas executives from criticism of the damage their industry is causing.’ Photograph: Abaca/Shutterstock

The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin would no doubt have understood and even appreciated the latest attack by the Trump administration on climate researchers and their work.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, is to be dismantled after more than 50 years at the forefront of global research on climate science and monitoring.