Bushfires focus public attention on climate change for months, but it’s different for storms and floods

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 03:44:43 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/bushfires-focus-public-attention-on-climate-change-for-months-but-its-different-for-storms-and-floods-212096>

"As the world warms and the climate changes, people are experiencing more
frequent and intense extreme weather events. Just this year, heatwaves blasted
southern Europe, the United States and China; wildfires lit up Greece, Canada
and Maui in Hawaii; and winter storms froze large parts of the US.

Our new research explores the connection between extreme weather events in
Australia and public interest in climate change or global warming between 2009
and 2020. We found that bushfires, storms and floods tended to focus attention
on climate change. But, crucially, the effect was short-lived and varied
depending on the type of weather event.

In between extreme events, the level of interest in climate change does not
appear to be increasing over time. This is despite developments in the science
attributing extreme weather events to climate change, and the growing tendency
of the media to make these connections.

Climate activists and policymakers may be able to use these “focusing events”
to raise awareness and harness support for stronger action."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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