Climate Communication: What Role Can Broadcast Meteorologists Take in Communicating About Climate Change and Reducing Risk from Severe Weather Impacts in Vulnerable Communities?

Climate change is currently impacting the ecosystems, cultures, and livelihoods of people across the world at an alarming, and often catastrophic, rate. Climate change in recent years has caused a radical increase in wildfires; a growth in the number of and intensity of severe storms such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones; increased droughts, floods, and heat advisories; and drastic fluctuations in temperatures. And, while now the percentage of Americans that think that global warming is happening far outnumbers those who think it is not happening (70% to 16%), still only 58% of Americans believe that global warming is mostly human-caused (Leiserowitz et al., 2023). And, while a majority of Americans (58%) agree that scientists think global warming is happening, there is still a great deal of skepticism and mistrust towards science.

In 2011 the National Weather Service launched its “Weather Ready Nation” program in an attempt to best prepare all Americans to be “ready, responsible, and resilient to weather, water, and climate threats” (NWS, 2011). However, a 2016 NOAA Report revealed that since severe weather and climate events have been shown to disproportionately affect different communities, such as those with limited access to resources, efforts must focus on communicating risk effectively. Special considerations must be made in communicating weather information to the most vulnerable populations to ensure all Americans can be best prepared. Additionally, socio-cultural factors such as language, mobility, access to community resources, and poverty are key in contributing to vulnerability to severe weather and climate events (NOAA, 2016). Broadcast meteorologists play a particularly important role in communicating severe weather information to vulnerable communities because, while not all individuals may have reliable cell phone or internet access, in a survey among low-income urban populations in 2018, respondents revealed that they “sometimes” or “often” relied on local TV meteorologists the most to get weather information (tied with smart phones at 35% and 36%, respectively; Peroff & Halbach, 2019).

Accordingly, broadcast meteorologists must take special consideration to ensure their approach to communicating risk from severe weather and climate change is the most effective in reaching all of their viewers who inevitably are coming from different backgrounds and levels of vulnerability. Since broadcast meteorologists are a trusted source for weather information, it is important that they are able to communicate information clearly and effectively, without viewers wanting to turn away from “bad news” or feel that meteorologists are attacking their personal beliefs. Additionally, since 61% of Americans would disagree that it is “too late to do anything about global warming” (Leiserowitz et al., 2023), TV meteorologists may be in a unique position to provide hope to viewers in steps or alternative actions they can take to reduce impacts. In fact, weathercasters who have communicated about climate change have received mostly positive feedback from viewers, yet their fear of receiving negative feedback keeps some broadcasters from sharing climate change statistics and information with audiences (Timm, et al., 2020). This presentation will share up to date information regarding the American public’s current perception, beliefs, and attitudes towards climate change. Additionally, tips will be shared about how to best communicate about climate change to a wide audience including strategies that have been shared in the literature to be the most or least effective in building trust and affecting beliefs and behavior. Special consideration will also be taken to consider best strategies when communicating risk to vulnerable populations.