Science Source

Un/natural Disasters: Communicating Linkages Between Extreme Events and Climate Change

Key Findings:
- The media, politicians and some scientists outside this area of research still often claim that ‘we can’t attribute any individual event to climate change.’ This may have been true in the 1990s, but it is no longer the case.
- Since the human influence on climate is well established, and all events take place in that changed environment… the question should no longer be ‘is there a human component,’ but 'what is it?'
- There is a clear opportunity for the media to discuss the most visible impacts of climate change in their coverage of weather disasters, though it is an opportunity that is missed far too often.
- Changes in extreme weather and climate events are the primary way that most people experience climate change.