The Risk of NOAA Layoffs (Editorial)

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Arkansans will be dealing with the destruction caused by the tornadoes that tore through the state 10 days ago for months, possibly for years. The outbreak of severe weather that included wildfires, dust storms and tornadoes killed three people in the state and at least another 39 throughout the South and Midwest.

Severe weather is a hazard of existence on this planet, extreme weather events have been increasing, and most scientists expect that increase to continue. But deaths from climate-related disasters have declined over the years, in part because of improved forecasts and early warnings. Much of the credit goes to the National Weather Service, a branch of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

The Trump administration on Feb. 27 fired more than 880 NOAA employees and plans to lay off another 1,000 of the agency’s 13,000 workers. (Some of those employees have been rehired, and federal judges have ordered the reinstatement of others.)

Yes, the federal workforce can stand to be streamlined. But we have to question whether the layoffs at NOAA, whose work warning Americans of life-threatening weather events has saved countless lives, will benefit taxpayers more than they will potentially harm them.