Lauren Sommer
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FEMA relies on thousands of disaster workers to respond on the ground when storms and wildfires hit.
Those workers are on two- or four-year contracts, which generally are renewed.
Recently, FEMA has been terminating employees whose contracts are up, something disaster response experts say could hurt the agency's ability to respond.
On Thursday, FEMA abruptly stopped that policy, according to an internal email obtained by NPR.
The Trump administration has been critical of FEMA and is working to overhaul the agency.
In a statement to NPR, FEMA says its disaster workforce is designed to fluctuate, but did not respond to questions about whether the termination policy would be reinstated after the winter storm.
High in the atmosphere, there's a layer of ozone gas that acts like sunscreen for the Earth.
It helps block harmful UV radiation from the sun.
But in the 1980s, scientists discovered a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.
It was caused by chemicals produced for refrigerators and air conditioners.
which break down ozone once they're released.
Countries came together in 1992 to phase out the use of those chemicals.
Scientists at NASA and NOAA say the improving ozone hole shows those policies are working, and they expect the hole in the ozone layer to be mostly repaired by mid-century.