US Department of Defense suddenly no longer delivers weather data

Is there a hurricane you don’t see? The US Department of Defense seems to want to test this. It surprisingly announced not to pass on satellite -based weather data to scientists and weather services.

End after four decades

For over four decades, satellites from the US armed forces have provided important data about weather and ocean conditions. These raw data were prepared by the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center of the US Navy. Researchers then used them for real -time forecasts of hurricanes and to monitor the sea ice in Arctic and Antarctic. The decision now made comes at a delicate time – in the middle of the approaching high season for hurricanes in the Atlantic. The sudden setting of the data transfer was known by a notification from the U. NPR reported.

“I was surprised – this data is essential for the hurricane forecast,” said Brian Tang, hurricane researcher at the University of Albany. So far, the navy has not commented on the reasons. A spokesman for the US space force confirmed the functionality of the satellites, but referred to “cybersecurity concerns” as the cause of the restriction. Financial reasons are not decisive, says Mark Serreze from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), which the satellite data has been using for observation of the sea ice since 1979.

Foreseeable consequences

The decision could have serious consequences. The satellite data has so far been helping meteorologists to recognize the development and intensity of hurricanes at an early stage – for example by observing eye walls inside the storm, which indicate an impending reinforcement. Tang refers to hurricane Erick in the Pacific, in which such data could be warned in good time.

The storm met Mexico as a category 3 hurricane. Climate research is also affected: Six important data records for recording the sea ice on both poles will be eliminated in the future. The switch to alternative data sources – for example from a Japanese satellite sensor – was planned, but the new cut -off date 30 June came surprisingly early. “That brings us into force,” said Serreze.

This is particularly critical under the currently tightened conditions. In 2025, the lowest expansion of sea ice in the Arctic has been recorded so far since the satellite recordings began. Noaa emphasizes that the forecast ability will be preserved, but experts warn of dangerous information gaps – especially in view of increasingly faster and stronger storms as a result of climate change.