{
  "id": 10211318,
  "title": "Germany Is Building a Digital Noah’s Ark for US Climate Data",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/germany-is-building-a-digital-noahs-ark-for-us-climate-data",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-27T12:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mother Jones",
    "slug": "mother-jones",
    "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/german-climate-computing-senter-backup-storate-us-climate-data-trump-administration-tampering-digital-repository/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Hamburg, Germany, technicians are installing new storage racks in the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ) to create a digital Noah's Ark for US climate data. The DKRZ already houses 254 petabytes of climate simulation data, and the new equipment will add an additional 5 petabytes of storage capacity. This backup will store copies of climate simulations from the US, ensuring that essential work for the next major U.N. climate assessment in 2029 cannot be interfered with or compromised by the Trump administration. The German Research Foundation, which funds German science, believes that US political actions could block access to European data and research findings. There is a growing concern among European scientists about losing scientific data due to US policy changes, including the withdrawal from international climate organizations. The US government's decision to exit the IPCC and UNFCCC in January has raised fears of data loss and manipulation. The German Research Foundation has allocated $35 million to set up a program for safely storing copies of US data, which is crucial for climate, environmental, and biodiversity research. Most datasets are currently stored at a single location, making them vulnerable to loss from natural disasters, technical issues, or human interference. The German scientists' initiative aims to safeguard critical datasets from potential threats and ensure their availability for future climate assessments.",
  "summary": "This story was originally published by Yale E360 and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In a modern five-story building in the center of Hamburg, Germany, technicians are preparing to install several new “racks”—gray metal casings that hold computing hardware—alongside the scores that already line the narrow, dimly lit corridors of the German Climate Computing Center […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Germany building digital storage for US climate data in Hamburg.",
    "DKRZ adds 5 petabytes of capacity to 254 petabytes of existing data.",
    "German Research Foundation funds $35 million program for secure storage."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}