The National Weather Service has paused its automated translation services for weather alerts due to a contract lapse, impacting its partnership with language translation software firm Lilt that provided AI translation for alerts in multiple languages. The NWS announced the partnership in October 2023 to improve service equity for populations with limited English proficiency. This comes after President Trump declared English the official language of the U.S., leading to a crackdown on illegal immigration. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also saw mass terminations of probationary workers, with more than 1,020 employees laid off, but NWS forecast operations remained unaffected. Despite English being the most spoken language in the U.S., a significant portion of the population speaks non-English languages at home, with Spanish being the second most spoken language. The collection of language data is important for identifying the need for language assistance services. The pause in translation services highlights the importance of providing weather alerts in multiple languages to ensure community readiness and resilience, especially in the face of climate change driving extreme weather events.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
