This story originally appeared in The Guardian. It is republished here as part of Grist’s partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.
Local TV weather forecasters have become foot soldiers in the war against climate misinformation. Over the past decade, a growing number of meteorologists and weathercasters have begun addressing the climate crisis either as part of their weather forecasts, or in separate, independent news reports to help their viewers understand what is happening and why it is important.
And the reports are having an impact.
Studies by the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication show that in communities where local weather forecasters are reporting on the climate crisis, “public opinion is changing more rapidly,” said Ed Maibach, director of the center and an author of the studies. “We showed a really strong impact — people who saw the climate reporting came to understand climate change was more personally relevant,” he said.
The change has come as meteorologists and weather forecasters themselves have changed thei... Read more
