The Center produces climate reports providing historical perspectives on the Earth's climate which are vital to studies on global climate change, the greenhouse effect, and other environmental issues such as depletion of stratospheric ozone. Produced on a monthly basis, these 'State of the Climate' reports enhance the scientific understanding of current or newly evolving climate anomalies and are an integral part of the on-going debate regarding the implementation of effective global and national strategies for protecting the environment. Because the development and duration of the polar vortex and the subsequent depletion of stratospheric ozone is closely linked to temperature and atmospheric dynamics in the polar stratosphere, changes in climate can have a significant impact on trends in ozone. A continuing program of climate monitoring from the surface to the stratosphere is a vital part of NOAA's effort to monitor ozone in the stratosphere while enhancing the scientific understanding of ozone depletion.

NCDC archives 99 percent of all NOAA data, including over 200 million paper records; 1.2 million microfiche records; over 400,000 tape cartridges/magnetic tapes, and has satellite weather images back to 1960. The National Climatic Data Center's satellite services group has been providing SBUV/2 data to customers since July 1995. The center currently maintains an archive of historical raw SBUV/2 data which dates back to 3/14/1985. Current data are archived in near real-time and can also be requested. NCDC is part of the National Environmental Satellite, Data & Information Service (NESDIS).