A government agency responsible for tracking potentially deadly storm systems and keeping tabs on climate change has let off hundreds of employees as part of the Trump administration’s latest round of budget cutbacks.
In response to the cutbacks at NOAA, scientists and weather presenters like Al Roker have voiced their outrage and worry for the safety of Americans.
“This cannot be good as we enter the severe weather and hurricane season,” Today’s weather anchor, Bob Roker, wrote on X in reaction to the news.
The organization, which, according to its website, provides crucial information about changes in the environment and how they affect people and their natural resources, is laying off at least 880 workers, as Washington Senator Maria Cantwell revealed in a statement she released on Thursday, February 27.
On Friday, February 28, further layoffs might occur, as reported by CNN. Many saw the layoffs as an extension of billionaire Elon Musk’s order to the Department of Government Efficiency to dismiss thousands of government workers.
Numerous meteorological and science professionals, including Roker, have voiced their concerns with the decision.
On X, Roker, 70, spoke on the importance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s responsibilities, including issuing weather watches and warnings, researching and monitoring Earth’s climate, operating weather satellites, and preserving marine life.
Tom Di Liberto has been employed by NOAA for many years, despite the fact that most of the layoffs have been attributed to probationary staff, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. In 2010, he began working as a contractor for the agency. In 2023, he was employed full-time.
“A lot of us were working with NOAA for a very long period — we weren’t just hired,” Di Liberto told the publication about the firings. He, too, has said that he was fired “because of his ability, knowledge, and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs.”
He continued by saying that the wording was totally at odds with the glowing evaluations he had gotten for his work.
Concerned by the layoffs, climate scientist Daniel Swain of UCLA went to X to voice his opinions.
His argument was that the current state of the private sector would not be able to swiftly step in and replace NOAA and the NWS if they were to be severely dismantled. “The public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters will be severely compromised by the now-confirmed and rumored additional cuts to NOAA/NWS. These cuts are incredibly short-sighted.”
Hurricanes, floods, and harsh winter storms have killed a lot of Americans recently, but NOAA has been warning the public. This occurred, as reported by the Associated Press, during the most recent floods in Kentucky, which claimed the lives of eight individuals.
In his piece, Roker said that NOAA’s mandate requires 24/7 staff monitoring of potentially hazardous weather, earthquakes that might trigger tsunamis, and other potential dangers.
