NOAA slashes its weather balloon launches

In the wake of budget cuts by the Trump administration, a Silicon Valley startup will soon start to replace the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) weather balloons with AI-powered alternatives, which are supposed to be much cheaper.

Since March, NOAA has slashed its weather balloon launches across the United States after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut the government agency’s budget by 25%. This led to hundreds of layoffs or voluntary resignations, resulting in fewer balloon launches by NOAA.

Weather agencies across the world use weather balloons to make upper air observations that are crucial for forecasts. Upper air refers to the Earth’s atmosphere above about 5,000 feet, and it is from here that the planet gets its rain and drought, wind and calm, and heat and cold at the surface.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also uses weather balloons to measure meteorological variables.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/noaa-weather-balloon-10001282/