The Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration, the main agency of the Nation for Climate and Climate Science, has been told to the Trump administration to prepare to lose another 1,000 workers, which raises the concerns that NOAA’s salvation forecasts could be hindered as the hurricane season and disasters approach.
The new layoffs would be in addition to the approximately 1,300 members of NOAA personnel who have already resigned or were fired in recent weeks. The movements have alarmed scientists, meteorologists and others in the agency, which includes the National Meteorological Service. Some activities, including the launch of meteorological balloons, have already been suspended due to personnel scarcity.
Together, the reductions would represent almost 20 percent of the workforce of approximately 13,000 members of NOAA.
NOAA managers have been told that they prepare proposals for layoffs and reorganizations to cut the agency staff for at least 1,000 people, according to eight people who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss plans publicly. The effort is part of the “reductions in force” that President Trump required as part of an executive order last month, since he and billionaire Elon Musk make rapid cuts on a large scale to the federal bureaucracy.
NOAA managers have been asked to complete their proposals for Tuesday, said one of the people. It is likely that proposals involve eliminating some of the agency’s functions, although managers have received little orientation on what programs prioritize for cutting.
NOAA representatives did not immediately respond to a comment request on Saturday.
The recent employee outputs have already affected NOAA operations in many areas: predict hurricanes and tornadoes, supervise fishing and endangered species, monitoring the changes that humans are bringing to the climate and ecosystems of the earth.
NOAA, an agency of $ 6.8 billion within the Department of Commerce, has been indicated by the cuts of some of Mr. Trump’s allies. The 2025 project, the policy plan published by the Heritage Foundation that is repeated in many of the Trump administration actions, calls Noa “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” The document requires that the agency be dismantled and some of its deleted or privatized functions.
Organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, which represents land and space researchers, have asked Congress to oppose the actions of the administration.
“Upon NOAA operations could risk the safety of millions of Americans and destabilize innumerable industries, from agriculture and fishing to energy and finance, threatening the loss of employment and economic recession,” the organizations wrote in a letter. They pointed out that, as the planet warms up, the extreme climate is becoming more frequent and more harmful, which makes NOAA work more critical.
The idea that private companies could replace NOAA to predict the weather is a “serious misunderstanding,” said Keith Seitter, a distinguished visiting professor in weather and climate sciences at the University of Santa Cruz in Worcester, Mass.
“The application on your phone or what you are watching on television, those are private sector companies, but those private sector companies depend critically on NOAA for all the information they are using to create those forecasts,” said Dr. Seitter. “It is a coordinated effort.”
Employees who still work in NOAA describe feelings of deep anxiety. His colleagues have been not announced, which means they have no idea who might not present to work. With their credit cards issued by the Government, they cannot buy supplies for research or travel projects to recover instruments that have been installed in the sea. They are struggling to make a backup copy of their scientific data, fearful that programs can close or leased in canceled buildings.
At least three NOAA facilities were on a list of federal properties that the Trump administration marked last week for a possible sale. The list was removed later, replaced by a web page that said that a new inventory “would arrive soon.”
The dismissals of NOAA scientists and other agencies, in addition to possible cuts to federal funds for research at universities and hospitals, have fed concerns that the administration is undermining the foundations of modern scientific leadership of the United States.
On Friday, the crowds gathered in the demonstrations of “defending science” in cities of the nation, including Austin, Birmingham, Alabama, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Nashville and Washington.
“This is the most challenging moment I can remember for science,” said Michael Mann, a climate researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, to The Rally in Washington, where the crowd reached its maximum point to 5,000 people, according to the organizers. “Science is under siege,” said Dr. Mann.
The National Meteorological Service has faced budget cuts, hiring freezing and demands privatization before, said Dr. Seitter. “But nothing in which you just used whole pieces of the workforce, or potentially eliminated budget pieces that support critical things from the mission,” he said.
