FCC to auction off wireless spectrum that could interfere with vital weather data, rejecting requests from U.S. House and science agencies | Washington Post

If this sort of scenario seems unlikely to you, also see Michael Lewis: The Big Short author on how Trump is gambling with nuclear disaster | The Guardian

"The Appropriations Committee letter had stressed that a delay “is necessary to allow for further review of potential interference to adjacent band uses that are critical for national security as well as the protection of American lives and property.”

It explained that the NOAA “uses the 23.6-24 GHz spectrum band for microwave sensor-based remote sensing of atmospheric levels of water vapor, which is the single most impactful data stream for accurately forecasting weather. This data is used by NOAA’s National Weather Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Defense (DOD), in addition to the broader international weather community.”

Without this data, the letter said, forecasting accuracy “would be reduced to the accuracy of forecasts produced in the 1970s.”"

FCC to auction off wireless spectrum that could interfere with vital weather data, rejecting requests from U.S. House and science agencies | Washington Post