Abstract
In 2019, several countries across Western Europe experienced record-breaking temperatures and heatwaves which, in some cases, reached temperatures of over 40 °C for three to four consecutive days during June and July. Extreme event attribution (EEA) studies show that anthropogenic climate change increased the likelihood of these events by at least three to ten times (with different results for different countries), and increased the temperature by 1.2 to 3.0 °C. The heatwaves resulted in more than 2500 deaths. Based on a content analysis of 267 articles taken from 20 of the most visited online news websites in four of the countries most affected by the heatwaves (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK), we find strong variations between countries and media outlets in how much attention journalists pay to links between climate change and the heatwaves (the UK media the most, and politically left-leaning titles more than right-leaning ones); many different types of statements depicting the link but in general, the presence of accurate, science-based descriptions; a strong presence of EEA studies in the coverage; and more quotes from climate scientists than politicians and NGOs, with a minimal presence of climate change skeptics. These results contribute to our understanding of media coverage around extreme weather events in different countries and media outlets, and how such events might serve as opportunities for public engagement with climate change.
Highlights
Despite the proliferation of numerous sources of information on climate change, news media are still central to how individuals, organizations, and societies understand, evaluate, and act upon it (Metag et al 2017)
Online survey data from 40 countries, including the four countries in this study, show that in 2020, news media were the most widely used sources of information on climate change, and that online sites of major news organizations were the second most popular platform after television (Amdi 2020). Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, droughts, and storms present a particular case for journalists to report about: first, such stories are of national and international relevance to warn the public of acute dangers and the impacts on infrastructure and society at large, and second, because these events raise the opportunity for journalists to link the extreme weather events to the science of climate change, and in this case extreme event attribution (EEA) studies
Based on the research showing that online news websites are a very popular way of receiving information about climate change (Amdi 2020), we chose to analyze the coverage of the heatwave by five of the most visited websites in each of four European countries most affected
Summary
Despite the proliferation of numerous sources of information on climate change, news media are still central to how individuals, organizations, and societies understand, evaluate, and act upon it (Metag et al 2017). Online survey data from 40 countries, including the four countries in this study, show that in 2020, news media were the most widely used sources of information on climate change, and that online sites of major news organizations were the second most popular platform after television (Amdi 2020). Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, droughts, and storms present a particular case for journalists to report about: first, such stories are of national and international relevance to warn the public of acute dangers and the impacts on infrastructure and society at large, and second, because these events raise the opportunity for journalists to link the extreme weather events to the science of climate change, and in this case extreme event attribution (EEA) studies. Media treatments of extreme weather events in European countries have rarely been studied (Painter and Hassol 2020), and cross-country studies of a single event are generally lacking. These received extensive coverage in European media, and in the four countries where the heatwaves were most acute: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK
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