He has dedicated his life to the study of large pelagic species, such as sharks, tunas and swordfish, in order to manage their populations sustainably and understand the impact of climate change. After years at the University of Miami, in Australia and at the United Nations, researcher David Die had just joined the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the world's leading centers for research into climate, weather and marine resources, as a branch chief in October 2024. It was the culmination of a career for this 65-year-old scientist. It all turned upside down on February 27, when he received notice of his dismissal in a generic email that gave Die an hour and a half to clear off his desk. This was a shock.

"I'd just had an appraisal with my superior, who described my work as excellent. I put a lot of effort into it. Even though I was on a three-year probationary period, this is a very nasty surprise," he said. More than 800 probationary NOAA employees were fired on the same day as Die, and another 500 left after accepting a resignation offer. In total, around 10% of its 13,000 employees have left the agency, according to New York Times calculations.

The mass departures could continue, a consequence of the offensive against climate science being waged at breakneck speed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, a climate skeptic who calls global warming a "hoax." On Friday, March 7, tens of thousands of scientists demonstrated around the world to condemn this assault on science.

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