It seems like Donald Trump doesn’t even want to leave the weather gods alone. The recent news is that a 17 percent cut to NOAA has been proposed by the White House which has left several scientists worried.
NOAA is responsible for weather forecasts as well as climate monitoring, weather satellites, ocean services and fisheries. A cut in the United States’ premier weather service could prove to be disastrous weather wise.
As per meteorologists, the weather predictions and its quality will suffer on a very large scale due to budget cuts. Weather satellites as well as computer models that are responsible for warming the US of dangerous weather conditions are also operated by NOAA. Not only is the weather prediction an important source in terms of economy but also livelihood.
Premier private American meteorologists including the AccuWeather and The Weather Channel also source their weather forecast data from NOAA itself.
At present the annual budget of NOAA is $5.6 billion, which is a small portion of $1.2 trillion discretionary budget of the federal government, as per reports. Every American pays a mere $3 each year to get weather services.
Not only does NOAA provide accurate weather forecast but other services like water and climate forecasts, basic weather conditions and severe weather services are also available to an average American.
The budget is likely to be submitted by US President Donald Trump on March 13, only then will it be clear as to what extent has NOAA been trumped.
Image Credit: dw.com