WASHINGTON, Feb 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Hundreds of scientists and experts have been fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a leading US agency responsible for weather forecasting, climate analysis, marine conservation and more, a Democratic lawmaker said Thursday.

The cuts come as Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency enacts sweeping reductions to the federal workforce -- moves that critics argue may exceed legal authority.

NOAA has been a prime target for conservative ideologues behind Project 2025, a blueprint for governing that President Donald Trump's new administration appears to be following.

The plan, developed by the Heritage Foundation, describes NOAA as one of the "main drivers of the climate change alarm industry" and calls for dismantling the agency.

It also seeks to privatize the National Weather Service, leaving weather forecasting in the hands of companies like AccuWeather.

"Hundreds of scientists and experts at NOAA just received the news every federal worker has been dreading," Congressman Jared Huffman of California wrote in a statement.

"Musk's sham mission is bringing vital programs to a screeching halt. People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information," added Huffman, who is the second most powerful member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

"Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives."

A NOAA spokesman said the agency would not comment on internal personnel matters.

"We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission," Theo Stein, the spokesman, told AFP.

Environmental advocates expressed concern at the move.

"Trump's mass firings at NOAA are an act of sabotage aimed at one of our most important federal agencies," said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans director.

She added that gutting the agency "will hamstring essential lifesaving programs that forecast storms, ensure ocean safety, and prevent the extinction of whales and sea otters."

Trump has reappointed meteorologist Neil Jacobs to lead NOAA, despite his role in the "Sharpiegate" scandal during Trump's first term.

Jacobs, who led the agency from 2018 to 2021, was officially censured for bowing to political pressure and misleading the public about a hurricane forecast.

The controversy erupted in 2019 when Trump falsely claimed Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama.

After the National Weather Service corrected him, Trump doubled down, displaying a doctored forecast map altered with a Sharpie. NOAA later issued an unsigned statement backing Trump, sparking backlash. Official investigations castigated Jacobs for his involvement in the statement.