The shutdown of the federal government, now in its third day, is having an effect on research into climate change. According to the website Climate Central, more than half of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staff has been sent home without pay. Those who remain are assigned to "mission critical" work, which does not include educational or most research duties.
Reports Climate Central:
At NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) in Maryland, employees who provide operational climate forecasts have stayed on the job, but those who monitor climate conditions have been furloughed. This is problematic, according to a CPC meteorologist, because the climate monitoring work is used to help make predictions. Products such as weekly climate anomalies and storm track analyses may not be updated during the shutdown, the meteorologist said, along with monitoring of the tropical Pacific Ocean, home to El Nino and La Nina events that tend to develop in the fall and winter.
Paul Huttner, senior meteorologist for MPR News, will discuss the impact the shutdown may have on climate research.