Climate Change Training

Fifteen regional broadcast meteorologists attended Climate Change Science for Broadcast Meteorologists and Weathercasters, a conference at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, May 14-15, 2010. Hosted by the Yale Project on Climate Change (YPCC), a center that has an established online forum that fosters scientists and journalists to discuss climate change, the full-day workshop set out to equip veteran broadcast meteorologists with the latest scientific information regarding climate change.

YPCC has identified the powerful opportunity meteorologists have to inform the public of climate science. Yet many meteorologists lack formal scientific training, which prevents them from discussing important science issues such as climate change. As broadcast journalists, these meteorologists should serve the purpose of delivering information to their audience, looking clearly at the facts around climate change from a scientific point of view.

The workshop included a faculty consisting of world-class climate scientists and TV meteorologists with extensive first-hand experience in studying and communicating on climate change science. It gave the conference participants a head-full of information exploring climate science so that the next time a meteorologist has viewers asking about it, they can give an educated answer.

This is the second workshop the McCormick Foundation has funded for YPCC.