at a time where everybody was a little edgy

[GoodTaste]

Collins was expected to step down when Donald Trump took office as US president in 2017; most new presidents since 1971 had picked their own agency head. Trump’s anti-science campaign rhetoric had alarmed researchers. But when Trump asked Collins to stay, he agreed. “I considered it an honour to be able to continue to do that kind of leadership at a time where everybody was a little edgy about: ‘What’s going to happen to science now?’”
Source: Nature

Is the word "where" here is an informal usage? "Time" is usually matched with "when" and so I guess "where" is informal or having a particular sense in rhetorics. I am not sure.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'd use 'when'; ('in which' would work, too - better than 'where').

 

[Tdol]

I prefer the alternatives, but people do use where in that context- it conveys the idea of the place of government at that time- the White House 2017.