Public Safety At Risk By Weather Job Cuts
NOAA had to cut over 800 jobs as part of federal government downsizing programs. The National Weather Service is among the largest parts of NOAA. The smaller workforce means that some parts of its function may disappear. NWS describes its work as ” Providing weather, water and climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy.”
Yale Climate Connections expressed the risk of NWS cuts. Bradley Colman, a former longtime NOAA meteorologist and the 2023 president of the American Meteorological Society, commented, “You’re risking simply not having the bodies to fill the seat … that the right people won’t be there at the right time and in the end that puts people’s property and lives at risk.”
Major Hurricane Risk
This trouble emerges as climate change-based disasters grow in number and strength. The tent pole is an example of this; in 2024, Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton were there. Early this year, climate change supercharged the conditions that caused the LA wildfires. This was followed by heavy rains, which caused mudslides in the same area of California.
Sudden events like tornadoes are equally dangerous because they happen quickly and often with a short period of warnings. The same can be true with torrents of water that cause sometimes deadly flooding.
Layoffs Soon
It is too early to tell the level of risks the layoffs represent, but it may not be long.
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