Some TV meteorologists want to talk about climate change.
asserted
meteorologists → want → change
Not everyone wants to hear it
Many weather broadcasters feel climate change reporting is part of their job, but the effort comes with risks
John Morales remembers the moment he broke down on air.
The veteran meteorologist, who works for the WTVJ television station in Miami, had been talking about climate change in his weather reports for decades.
asserted
who → want → decades
But in October 2024, after watching Hurricane Milton rapidly gain strength off the coasts of Florida and Mexico, he began tearing up.
asserted
he → watch → Florida
"I was delivering the facts, but suddenly I realized how strong of a hurricane that could be, how many victims it could take, how many lives it could ruin," he told What on Earth? host Johanna Wagstaffe at the Climate Week NYC conference.
uncertain
he → deliver → conference
"These events are happening with such frequency now, and there’s so many people in harm’s way, that I feel more compelled to call for action, to have people prepare for the worst, because the worst is happening, more and more often.
asserted
worst → happen → worst
Hurricane Milton would go on to kill 15 people across the U.S. and Mexico, according to a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report.
uncertain
Milton → go → report
NOAA estimated Milton caused a further 27 indirect deaths related to preparation, clean-up and power failures, not to mention $34.3 billion US in damages in Florida.
asserted
Milton → estimate → Florida
Southwestern Mexico braces for arrival of 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane Polo
El Niño moves into record-breaking territory
Morales said his reaction was a mix of climate anxiety, anticipatory grief for the victims and frustration.
"For 20 or 25 years, I’ve been communicating on climate, providing climate context to audiences, empowering them through education, to demand action on climate," he said.
asserted
he → brace → climate
"Yet hardly anything has been done."
It wasn’t always like this.
asserted
It → do → this
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Morales was excited by the storms he now often dreads.
asserted
he → grow → storms
The fascination led him to a career as a meteorologist.
asserted
fascination → lead → meteorologist
At a meeting of meteorologists at the White House in 1997, vice-president Al Gore said something that inspired Morales.
asserted
that → say → Morales
Gore asked why meteorologists comment on events like shooting stars, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions but not climate change.
asserted
meteorologists → ask → stars
Morales said it was the catalyst for talking about climate change on air.
asserted
it → say → air
"At first it was difficult, and then I started to see more opportunities and less resistance from managers in newsrooms for me to do that," he said.
"My hand was getting slapped less and less."
Today, Morales says, he rarely gets pushback from audiences, and Miamians often thank him for his climate coverage.
asserted
Miamians → start → coverage
And he’s got a lot of company now, as just one of many meteorologists who incorporate climate change into their work in front of the green screen.
asserted
who → get → screen
Morales lauds the work of his peer Elisa Raffa, who takes this approach in more conservative cities across the Midwest, explaining the phenomenon in a way that resonates with those audiences.
asserted
that → laud → audiences
In 2019, Chris Gloninger was working as a meteorologist for NBC’s WBTS television station in Boston, one of the biggest markets in the country, when he successfully pitched the station on a weekly climate change segment.
asserted
he → work → segment
In 2021, he decided he needed to talk about climate change in a more skeptical, conservative market.
asserted
he → decide → market
He took a job with KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa.
asserted
He → take → Moines
"I saw there was an opportunity to talk climate in a part of the country where it wasn’t being talked about," he told Joanna Wagstaffe at Climate Week NYC.
asserted
he → see → Week
"That was a difficult decision, and honestly it was leaving a dream job, but I was up for the challenge, because I thought it was that important of an issue.
asserted
it → leave → issue
It meant trading his dedicated climate change segment for 10- to 15-second tidbits on climate trends and renewable energy during weathercasts.
asserted
It → mean → weathercasts
Still, Gloninger knew that global warming had powerful implications for Iowa’s large agricultural sector, and he was undeterred by the hate mail.
asserted
he → know → mail
He took the approach of talking about the financial costs of climate change and energy independence to get through to Iowans.
asserted
He → take → Iowans
"I had to make sure that I was not an activist.
asserted
I → have → ?
I had to make sure that I was not trying to be an educator," he said.
asserted
he → have → ?
"I just simply wanted to be the local meteorologist that was showing trends, and explaining ... why things were happening the way they were happening.
asserted
they → want → trends
But everything changed with one email.
asserted
everything → change → email
In 2022, a viewer sent Gloninger a death threat referencing the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh just weeks earlier.
asserted
viewer → send → Kavanagh
A man with a gun, a knife and zip ties had been arrested outside Kavanagh’s home.
asserted
man → arrest → home
In August 2022, police in Iowa charged Danny Hancock, 63, who pleaded guilty to third-degree harassment and received a fine, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
asserted
Dispatch → charge → fine
After that, Gloninger said he felt a lack of support from the station.
asserted
he → say → station
He says KCCI began pushing him to stop talking about climate change and science.
asserted
KCCI → say → change
He left in 2023.
asserted
He → leave → 2023
"They did a 180 on what they agreed with when they hired me," he said.
asserted
he → do → me
"No viewer email stung as much as the response that I received from them."
asserted
I → sting → them
KCCI and its parent company, Hearst Television, have not responded to CBC’s request for comment.
asserted
KCCI → respond → comment
Gloninger now works for an environmental engineering company in Cape Cod, Mass.
asserted
Gloninger → work → Cod
He enjoys his work, but the transition has been hard.
asserted
transition → enjoy → work
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
