Source: NCAR & UCAR News https://news.ucar.edu/132801/5g-wireless-networks-threaten-weather-forecasts-ncar-expert-tells-congress

JUL 20, 2021 – BY DAVID HOSANSKY

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States must protect radio frequencies that are essential for weather forecasts and understanding the climate system, NCAR Associate Director William Mahoney told the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology today.

Mahoney, a meteorologist and expert in forecasting systems needed to protect life and property, testified at a committee hearing, “Spectrum Needs for Observations in Earth and Space Sciences.” His remarks came as meteorologists and other atmospheric scientists have raised increasing concerns that transmissions of 5G networks will interfere with satellite observations, significantly degrading weather forecasts, impairing our ability to advance our knowledge of the Earth system and prepare for climate change.

“At a time of increasing weather hazard vulnerability, it is imperative that critical Earth observations be protected from interference,” Mahoney said in his prepared remarks. “The impact of lost Earth observing data could be catastrophic for the nation.”

Read more at: https://news.ucar.edu/132801/5g-wireless-networks-threaten-weather-forecasts-ncar-expert-tells-congress