Latest news with #Easter-weekend
CBS News
05-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Former National Weather Service leaders warn about "loss of life" from NOAA cuts
The five living former National Weather Service leaders wrote and released an open letter to the American people warning about the impact of staffing and program cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, saying their "worst nightmare" is the cuts will lead to "needless loss of life." Since the beginning of the year, more than 550 employees have left the National Weather Service, leaving it down 10% of its staffing levels ahead of hurricane season and the busiest time of year. And the proposed budget released by the White House will cut NOAA, the parent agency of the National Weather Service, by nearly 30%, virtually eliminating NOAA's research functions for weather, limiting ocean data observations and decreasing funding for new satellites, they said. The five signatories — Louis Uccellini, Jack Hayes, Brigadier General D.L. Johnson, Brigadier General John J. Kelly Jr. and E.W. (Joe) Friday — worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations. "Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life," their letter said. "We know that's a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines — and by the people who depend on their efforts." Some forecast offices might be so short-staffed they have to function only part-time, they warned. "The Houston office has lost all three of its senior meteorologists," Friday told CBS News. "We have many offices across the country that are now having to close at night because they don't have sufficient staff," he said. Friday pointed to the Easter-weekend storms and floods in Oklahoma that killed two people, which he said could have been forecasted better. "Those are things that are going to happen with more and more stress on the organization," he said. Friday said they hope to impress the urgency of the situation upon congressional leaders and the public. "It is very unusual that all five of us former directors have agreed upon anything," said Friday, who is 86 years old and retired, living in Oklahoma. But collectively, the group felt it was important to the organization and science to share the message, he said. Specifically, the former NWS directors warned that staffing cuts could have ramifications for airplanes that can't fly without accurate weather observations and forecasts, and ships that rely on storm forecasts to avoid dangerous high seas. Farmers also rely on seasonal forecasts to plant and harvest, they noted. "As former directors of the National Weather Service, we know firsthand what it takes to make accurate forecasts happen and we stand united against the loss of staff and resources at NWS and are deeply concerned about NOAA as a whole. Join us and raise your voice too," the letter said. The president's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would make cuts to the majority of federal agencies, with the average cut being around 35%, according to the White House. It increases spending for the Pentagon and border security. Congress is ultimately responsible for crafting and passing a budget. According to the proposed budget, NOAA could see more than $1.5-billion in cuts, mostly targeting climate-based research and data collection. But attempting to terminate any activity related to climate will also impact the ability to collect weather data.
IOL News
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Economic depression impacts local tourism
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has reported a significant reduction in road fatalities over the recent Easter weekend. Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers DESPITE a notable decline in vehicle accidents and fatalities during the Easter period, experts suggest that economic factors may have led to reduced domestic travel in South Africa. The Automobile Association (AA) this week announced road crashes decreased by 32.5% while fatalities declined by 45.6% compared to the same period last year – marking the lowest Easter-weekend figures recorded in the past three years. However, authorities in the hospitality and economic sectors believe that far less motorists were on the roads due to belt tightening measures and the uncertainty over the proposed Value Added Tax (VAT). The AA attributed the drop in the number of fatalities to high-visibility law enforcement, impactful public education under the theme #GotHomeSafe, and multi-sector collaboration that played a critical role in influencing road user behaviour. While celebrating the overall decline in crashes and fatalities, the AA expressed concern over the increase in fatalities in Mpumalanga and the ongoing high number of pedestrian deaths, which now accounts for nearly 50% of all road fatalities nationally. The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa has seen a strong cooling off of the domestic economy. Image: File Brett Tungay, chairperson of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA) East Coast region believes the decline in crashes was directly in line with the decrease in tourist volumes coming into KwaZulu-Natal. "Since the beginning of this year, there's definitely been a drop in the domestic market coming into the province. It has been busy but not traditional Easter and long weekend busy. "The long weekends were busy, but where historically we would have seen good trade through the midweeks, we are not seeing that this year. From the restaurants and accommodation, we are seeing a strong cooling off of the domestic economy," said Tungay. He said the VAT increase debacle had a huge negative impact for the economy. "That is going to psychologically play on the domestic spend for a couple of months, unfortunately. "People are not seeing the economic changes anticipated with the Government of National Unity (GNU). They are seeing more of the same, not creating any growth at all, which is disastrous. Unfortunately when it comes to hospitality we are a luxury spend," said Tungay. Economist Dawie Roodt said people may have stayed home because of the economy. "The petrol price came down nicely and that should've boosted the demand for travelling, but the macroeconomic environment is not good for travelling. "Macroeconomic conditions are not good. On a per capita basis we are probably poorer today than we were a year ago. Unemployment is also a significant reason for reduced travel. All the industries are suffering in the country," he said. Roodt said the political uncertainty around the VAT issue and the possibility of the GNU coming to an end creates uncertainty and anxiety as well. "My estimate for economic growth this year is probably going to be less than 1% because of all the uncertainty. And uncertainty is bad for the economy and I guess that also contributed to less people travelling," said Roodt. Dr Ntokozo Nzimande, senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Johannesburg, said due to the cost of living people could have chosen to minimise travel which may be the reason why there is a drop in the number of crashes and fatalities on the road. "People want to save and minimise travel. At the time there was also the concern about whether the VAT would increase or not. That changed people's purchasing power. They were cautious of the VAT increase. People are avoiding big and unnecessary spending as they are aware of the hard times to come," said Nzimande.
