The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is putting up awkward new restrictions on scientists who say people within the agency could hinder the quality and availability of global weather forecasts.
According to current and former high-level Noahianti players and staff members spoken by the Guardian, the new requirements created anxiety within the institution and made them wary at European institutions.
“My hope is that it will be a climate crackdown,” said a senior NOAA scientist. “People are somewhere between being interrupted and fear.”
Last week, NOAA’s research office sent a message to all staff saying it was “immediately effective.” The agency’s headquarters will implement a new layer of oversight for scientist emails and “virtual meetings” with foreigners. Additionally, the new restrictions require all NOAA employees and affiliates to document “all international engagements” in their internal spreadsheets for approval by Trump’s political appointees on a case-by-case basis. .
“We haven’t stopped anything yet,” the scientist said, “What we need to do is crazy. Working internationally is very routine and that’s rarely considered. ”
“It’s a difficult time to become a federal employee,” said the scientist who doesn’t want to name it.
The NOAA directive did not ban scientists from continuing ongoing international cooperation, but additional administrative burdens seem particularly troublesome for the National Weather Service (NWS). The flow of data on the atmosphere and oceans to the atmosphere and the world is free in the public interest.
A climate scientist at the EU’s Copernicus Agency said he didn’t want to name it, but when he heard the news last week he said he was “apparently saddened.” “The climate crisis knows no boundaries and stopping international scientific cooperation only undermines our ability to understand and fight.”
Staff within NOAA are also preparing for further budget cuts and staffing that will put an even greater burden on government agencies. According to a report from CBS, “Current employees are expected to cut staff by 50% and budget cuts by 30%.”
Last week, before he was confirmed as Director of the Office of Business and Budget, Project 2025 architect Russell Vought proposed a 38% budget cut for NOAA. Eliminate prioritization of the Awakening Agenda. ”
Other policy experts within Trump’s inner circle want to privatize the NWS. A recent survey found that every dollar invested in the National Weather Service generates $73 in value for Americans (and even more in the world through freely available public data access. (It’s worth it).
Because the NWS is so valuable to society, Greg Carbine, who until recently served as chief of forecast operations at the NWS’s Weather Forecast Center, said NOAA restrictions are not seen as strictly cost-cutting measures. I did.
“Rating these services now would be a reckless decision that costs far more lives and damage than saving on the balance sheet,” Carbine said. “Investing in weather and climate services is not a cost. It is an essential safeguard for the country’s security, economy and well-being.”
This step appears to be part of a larger, coordinated effort by the Trump administration to reduce government spending and repeat federal efforts from the climate crisis.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk’s “Ministry of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) placed the head of NOAA’s HR team on administrative leave and began purges the entire agency for activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Further reports show NOAA staff have recently been asked to create a list of all climate-related programs currently run by the agency.
Sources within NOAA said the additional administrative burden, combined with an ongoing freezing of federal employment and expected staff and budget cuts, would hinder our ability to maintain a functioning public weather service. It’s there. Additionally, the freely available use of NOAA data overseas may be limited, which could have serious global impact.
“An accurate forecasting protects lives, alleviates billions of disaster-related damage, and allows businesses to operate more efficiently from agriculture to transport,” Carbine said.
European scientists working with NOAA said they were worried about what they had heard from their US colleagues, but they were asked to hear what changes actually mean for their work. I’ve been waiting.
“One of the most concerning aspects of this situation is the availability of US datasets for environmental science, particularly in weather forecasting and climate science,” said Copernicus’ atmosphere, which he had not spoken on behalf of the agency. Scientist Nicholas Bouceres said.
Bouceres, who works extensively with NOAA and NASA, says it is not yet clear whether access will be restricted, but “this extreme scenario is plausible and could have serious consequences.” He said.
The United States has played an oversized role in climate and weather science, particularly basic climate observation, said Peter Thorne, a climate scientist who has worked with Copernicus and NOAA at Maynooth University. “In the worst case of NOAA getting dark, it’s not like everything is sent to an existential crisis… (but) it’s not pretty.”
NOAA did not respond to requests for comment.
The NWS typically employs around 4,500 scientists and engineers, but in itself struggles to fully staff it. NOAA has a vast global mission, but it focuses primarily on maximizing the benefits of science to society.
“If the proposed NOAA and NWS reductions are in place, the consequences will be severe,” Carbin said. “It leads to slower predictions and warnings of more accurate and slower weather conditions that put lives and property at risk.”
Senior NOAA officials estimate that “hundreds” of NOAA staff have already accepted the federal takeover provided by the Trump administration.
