Climate Solutions and Climate Attribution in Extreme Heat Press Coverage: The July 2022 UK Heatwaves

The July 2022 U.K. heatwave serves as a case study for how media outlets report on extreme heat events and their connection to climate change. Using content analysis methods, researchers found that discussion of climate solutions was largely missing in the news coverage by U.K. and U.S. newsrooms. Climate-focused news outlets were more likely to include some mention of climate solutions, but a limited range of solutions were covered, with climate politics and policy getting the most mentions, followed by air conditioning, infrastructure adaptations and retrofitting homes.

Audiences would be better served if climate solutions are covered within, or alongside, extreme weather reporting at moments when public attention and concern about climate change are heightened, according to the researchers behind the study: Jill Hopke, an associate professor of journalism at DePaul University and Antal Wozniak, a senior lecturer in communication and media at the University of Liverpool.

Photo credit: Alastair Johnstone / Climate Visuals