India, March 28 -- For decades, the National Weather Service (NWS) has relied on a time-honoured tradition of releasing weather balloons from over 100 sites across the United States and in the Pacific and Caribbean. These balloons, which carry instruments that measure temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind patterns, are a cornerstone of weather forecasting. The balloons are sent twice daily at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

They rise 15 feet per second for about two hours in which they send crucial information collected through radio waves after travelling through atmospheric layers. The mission completes when these balloons pop and fall back to Earth with little parachutes.

Recent cuts to the NWS staff under the Trump administration have led...