Helium shortage disrupts celebrations - and even US weather service

Source: The Guardian

Helium shortage disrupts celebrations – and even US weather service

Supply chain disruptions, including production plant closures and 2017 embargo on Qatar, have caused shortage of rare substance

Maya Yang
Fri 27 May 2022 11.00 BST
Last modified on Fri 27 May 2022 11.01 BST

A global helium shortage has been affecting celebrations with balloons and even the National Weather Service.

Helium is a rare substance produced when uranium decays. Already difficult to mine, there are only a few sources in the world that produce the gas. Currently, the United States is one of the world’s largest helium producers, along with Qatar and Algeria. However, due to supply chain disruptions, including production plant closures and the 2017 embargo on Qatar, the global supply of helium has been severely affected.

In addition to the shortage affecting various instruments and machines that require the gas to function safely, various companies have been struck with negative balloon sales. In a quarterly earnings call on Thursday, Dollar Tree executives said that they are “once again” experiencing a helium shortage which could impact its sales.

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The shortage has also been impacting the National Weather Service, which uses the odorless gas to fill weather balloons. Weather balloons are released twice daily across the country and provide various weather forecasting information.

However, because of the shortage, numerous balloon sites have had to cut back on launches.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/27/global-helium-shortage