Earlier this week, the National Weather Service (NWS) halted the translation of its weather alerts and products into non-English languages due to the expiration of its contract with Lilt, an artificial intelligence translation service provider. The federal agency has provided no information about if or when it will resume offering translation services. This decision follows federal budget cuts and an executive order that designates English as the official language of the U.S. 

Terminating translation services raises serious safety concerns for the 68 million+ U.S. residents who speak non-English languages. Language access is a matter of life or death leading up to, during, and after extreme weather events. Without non-English weather alerts, individuals may not receive or understand critical information about evacuation orders or shelter availability, putting their health and safety at risk.

During the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, non-English weather alerts were essential for residents to know if their safety was immediately threatened. According to the Latino Data Hub, 23% of Los Angeles County residents are Limited English Proficient. That’s over 2 million people who may have relied on translated weather alerts from the NWS — and who now risk being left without them in the face of another emergency.

The NWS’s decision to cut translation services does not eliminate the need for U.S. residents to receive weather alerts in languages they understand. Instead, the burden has now shifted to local governments and nonprofit organizations, which are often ill-equipped to provide such services to vast and diverse populations due to being underresourced.

U.S. residents — regardless of whether they speak English — rely on the NWS to provide accurate weather data and alerts that help protect them and their families. Everyone deserves the same chance to survive and protect their community and loved ones in the face of weather emergencies, no matter the language they speak.

Julia Silver is a Research Analyst at LPPI and is responsible for designing, managing, and implementing the organization’s research in health and sustainability. Media inquiries on this topic can be sent to lppipress@luskin.ucla.edu.