The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it is delaying by one month the planned cutoff of satellite data that helps forecasters track hurricanes.
Meteorologists and scientists last week when NOAA , that it would almost immediately discontinue key data collected by three weather satellites that the agency jointly runs with the Defense Department.
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program鈥檚 microwave data gives key information that can鈥檛 be gleaned from conventional satellites. That includes three-dimensional details of a storm, what's going on inside of it and what it is doing in the overnight hours, experts say.
The data was initially planned to be cut off on June 30 鈥渢o mitigate a significant cybersecurity risk,鈥� NOAA鈥檚 announcement said. The agency now says it's postponing that until July 31. Peak hurricane season is usually from mid-August to mid-October.
NOAA didn't immediately respond to a message seeking more details about the reason for the delay. The Navy confirmed the new date and said only that the "program no longer meets our information technology modernization requirements.鈥�
NOAA 鈥� which has been the this year 鈥� said Friday the satellite program accounts for a 鈥渟ingle dataset in a robust suite of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools鈥� in the National Weather Service's portfolio.
The agency's 鈥渄ata sources are fully capable of providing a complete suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard weather forecasting the American people deserve,鈥� a spokesperson said.
But Union of Concerned Scientists science fellow Marc Alessi told The Associated Press on Friday that detecting the rapid intensification, and more accurately predicting the likely path, of storms is critical as experienced across the globe.
鈥淣ot only are we losing the ability to make better intensification forecasts, we are also losing the ability to predict accurately where a tropical cyclone could be going, if it鈥檚 in its development stages,鈥� Alessi said. "This data is essential.
鈥淥n the seasonal forecasting front, we would see the effects," he added, "but also on the long-term climate change front, we now are losing an essential piece to monitoring global warming.鈥�
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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: . Reach her at [email protected].
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Read more of AP鈥檚 climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment
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Alexa St. John, The Associated Press
