Guest essay by Eric Worrall
UK Climate grinch Bob Ward and other climate experts think journalists should project more misery and doom when describing glorious Summer beach weather.
Sunny coverage of UK heatwaves forgets risks, say climate experts
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Experts say unusually dry and sunny conditions like those experienced in the UK over the past two months are too often framed as something to celebrate, with newspaper and TV reports featuring pictures of people sunbathing, playing in fountains or eating ice creams.
Instead, the experts say, people should be made aware of the risks associated with increasingly hot summers, especially for vulnerable groups, and they should be helped to “join the dots” to see heatwaves and flooding in the context of the wider climate crisis.
“I am afraid the media have not woken up to the risks associated with hot and dry weather and that can help lull the population into a state of ignorance about the extent and severity of those risks,” said Bob Ward, from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.
He said elderly people and those with underlying health conditions were at risk from more regular heatwaves – a danger often compounded by poorly insulated houses or care homes.
“It is all very well to be talking about visits to the beach because it is going to be sunny and hot but we must recognise that there are real risks too, particularly for vulnerable groups of people,” Ward said.
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For shame Britain. Instead of getting out and enjoying Summer weather, you should have taken shelter indoors against the deadly 28C+ (82F) heatwaves, keeping your children safe from the horrors of T-shirt weather, and telling climate doomsday stories to help your kids learn that warm sunny beach weather is the enemy.
via Watts Up With That?
June 4, 2020 at 04:44PM
