The Climate Question

What’s the carbon footprint of streaming your favourite shows or doing an AI search? How vulnerable are river estuaries to climate change? Plus, are you a climate optimist or pessimist? Graihagh Jackson and her panel answer your questions.
The panel are Justin Rowlatt, BBC climate editor; Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter for Bloomberg News and host of Bloomberg's Zero podcast; and Caroline Steel, presenter of BBC CrowdScience.
Got a question or comment for the next listeners' show? You can email us at [email protected] or leave a WhatsApp message at + 44 8000 321 721
Production team: Diane Richardson and Grace Braddock
Sound Engineers: Ben Andrews and Tom Brignell
Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Editor: Simon Watts
Picture Credit: ljubaphoto via Getty Images

It’s one of the most commonly debated questions in the climate world: Is this weather we’re experiencing natural, or is it linked to man-made climate change?
In this episode of The Climate Question, Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar are joined by BBC Lead Weather Presenter, Matt Taylor. Matt’s forecasts are seen not just in the UK but around the world.
Matt chats to Graihagh and Jordan about the crucial difference between weather and climate, and the challenge of communicating this on air. They discuss why heavy snowfall will still be possible in a warmer world, as well as the likely increase in droughts, heatwaves and extreme weather.
Matt also talks about whether climate change will make his forecasts more or less accurate. And he tells Graihagh and Jordan about an encounter with BBC wildlife legend, David Attenborough!
Got a climate question or comment? Email us at [email protected]
Presenters: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar
Producers: Nik Sindle and Melanie Stewart-Smith
Sound Mix: Ricardo McCarthy and Tom Brignell
Editors: Simon Watts and Melanie Stewart-Smith

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear accident devastated the Soviet Union and shocked the world. But, 40 years on, are we now seeing a nuclear renaissance? And what does that mean for the climate?
Climate Question host Jordan Dunbar has just visited the most contaminated place in the world for a BBC World Service documentary. He tells co-host Graihagh Jackson about the ghostly atmosphere in the former Chernobyl control room and the huge dome that now covers the remains of the nuclear reactor that exploded.
Jordan and Graihagh also discuss how the disaster set back the nuclear power industry for decades. Now, however, nuclear is firmly back on the international agenda because of rising power demand and concerns about energy security.
With around 40 countries now aiming to build more nuclear power stations, what will this mean for the climate and the world’s goal of keeping global warming under control?
Got a question or a comment? Email us at [email protected]
Presenters: Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson
Producers: Simon Watts and Diane Richardson
Sound Mix: Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts
Picture credit: Getty Images

With more and more people moving to cities, informal settlements are expected to grow. When floods hit these unplanned places, it can be disastrous, as we often don’t know much about them. Crucial questions often remain difficult to answer, like how many people live there, what are the buildings made of, and could they withstand a flood?
In the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg, the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko visits a project using drones and artificial intelligence to help authorities prevent the worst impacts of flooding. And in Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, we hear how an innovative digital map helped the emergency response – and will soon be available to all for free across the world.
This programme was first broadcast in 2024. You can email us at [email protected]
Guests:
Rodrigo Rocha, Partner at the Responsive Cities Institute, Porto Alegre
Dr Caroline Gevaert, Associate Professor at the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente
Nomsa Maseko, the BBC’s South Africa Correspondent
Presenter: Jordan Dunbar
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Researcher: Octavia Woodward
Sound mix: Tom Brignell
Editors: Sophie Eastaugh and Simon Watts
Image: Reuters

Earthquakes are caused by a sudden release of stress along faults in the earth's crust, not by climate change, but some new studies suggest that melting glaciers and permafrost may influence when, where and how often seismic activity occurs.
In this episode, hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar chat to seismologist Dr. Verena Simon from the Swiss Seismology Service and Associate Professor of Geosciences at Colorado State University, Sean Gallen.
Got a question or comment? email us at [email protected]
Production team: Diane Richardson, Grace Braddock
Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell and Philip Bull
Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown.
Editor: Simon Watts.
(Photo by Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)