Trump cuts NOAA - "Will Cost Lives"

US President Donald Trump has put the axe to the US National Weather Service (NOAA). The hijacking affects both international climate research and local forecasts, experts and staff warn.

– It will cost us many lives, a former senior manager told TT.

It was just another day at the home office in Miami for Andy Hazelton. At the end of his shift, the email he, and hundreds of other NOAA employees, had feared arrived.

“The agency believes that you are not suitable for continued employment because your abilities, knowledge and/or skills do not meet the current needs of the agency.”

– I was upset. Even though I knew it could happen, I was a little surprised, and nervous about what would happen next. I realised that I would have to make plans, he says.

Andy Hazelton has worked on hurricanes for NOAA for eight years. Among other things, he has sat in the reconnaissance planes that literally fly into storms to collect data. But it wasn’t until October last year that he got a permanent position at the agency, where he used computer modelling to improve hurricane forecasts, he tells TT.

– It was exciting. I had worked for NOAA for a long time, so it was like a promotion, he says.

Hazelton, a father of four, is one of 800 employees at the agency who was let go for the day. As he was still on probation, he was easy to sack. The email came from a manager high up in the hierarchy. Neither Hazelton’s immediate supervisor nor that supervisor’s boss knew he was being let go.

– I basically had to pack up the computer and turn it in.

Singled out in Project 2025NOAA is a giant agency with 12,000 employees. Like the Swedish SMHI, it works with weather forecasts and ocean data. But it also has a broader role in managing fisheries, coastal protection and supporting shipping – conducting research on everything from whales to solar storms. It is estimated that one third of the US economy is affected in one way or another by the agency’s data.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Trump administration want to save trillions on government spending. Perhaps the climate sceptic Trump’s administration has an extra axe to grind with NOAA, which conducts world-class research on the effects of climate change.

The ultra-conservative Project 2025 plan, which has close ties to the Trump White House and was discussed during the election campaign, includes ideas to privatise parts of NOAA and dismantle others.

– I’m definitely concerned, says Emily, whose real name is something else and who used to be a senior manager at the agency.

Among other things, NOAA makes long-term forecasts that affect farmers. In addition to studying and warning about hurricanes, it also issues tornado, fire and flood warnings.

– The cuts will critically damage the US economy, but also cost many lives, because people won’t get the information they need in time to act, says Emily.

She is surprised by the speed with which the sweeping changes are being implemented.

– We realised things were going to happen, but the speed at which it’s happening is not about government efficiency. It’s pure government stupidity, she says.

Within the walls of the agency, a culture of silence is emerging. People dare not speak out for fear of reprisals. Like other government employees, those who remain have to report weekly on what they have been working on in the past week.

– This creates an environment where everyone is on edge all the time. It’s not a good recipe for productivity, says Emily.

Not just the US

But it’s not just Americans who benefit from NOAA. Among the nearly 7,000 scientists working for the agency are some of the world’s top climate experts, studying how the planet is changing due to global warming.

NOAA also collects weather and climate data from a wide range of monitoring stations, satellites and balloons. This information is shared internationally and used to make forecasts and monitor climate change.

– If there is any disruption in the collection of that data, it is a scientific disaster,’ Rachel Cleetus, policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told TT.

Scientists have signed open letters protesting the cuts, and on 6 March thousands protested across the country against a policy they describe as anti-science.

At the end of January, a famine warning system in Africa, to which NOAA contributed data, was switched off. Cleetus fears that this is just the beginning. There is concern that global warnings for cyclones and typhoons will also go the same way, and that information sharing will be cut off.

No one can fill the gap left by NOAA. There is a real need for scientists around the world to work together. This is a huge loss for the entire scientific community. It’s not just the data, but the expertise built over time. It is incomprehensible that the US government is deliberately undermining its own research,’ she says.

The fact that NOAA has come under fire can be explained by the Trump administration’s passion for the fossil fuel industry, she says.

– The reason they want to bury climate research in particular is because they want to continue investing in fossil fuels. We have people in the government who come directly from the fossil fuel industry or have links to it, many of whom are against climate research.

‘Quite apolitical’

It is unclear what will happen to Andy Hazelton and the others who have been dismissed. He has some money set aside. Maybe he’ll go back to academia, maybe he’ll go to the private sector.

– We had hoped it wouldn’t be that bad. My kind of job is quite apolitical. We’re in the business of providing people with information.

Some federal employees who have been fired have been met with celebration from friends and employees who support Trump.

– There have been a few comments here and there on social media. But most of my friends and family – even those who support Trump – are very much against what’s happening with NOAA and think he and Musk are doing wrong. But I think the average person doesn’t realise how bad it is and the damage they are doing.

He does not rule out that he could return to NOAA in the future.

– I would like that. Because I feel strongly about our mission, to serve the people, get the information out and help save lives and property. I hope it can be so in a more stable future, he says.