Shows / The Climate Question
The Climate Question
Why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that.
Episodes
The Climate QuestionWhy does climate change hit women harder?
Our changing climate affects all genders - with extreme weather events, heat, drought and flooding putting pressure on the lives and wellbeing of entire…
The Climate QuestionAMOC: How the changing Atlantic could reshape our world
The system of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC plays a crucial role in the global climate, helping to keep…
The Climate QuestionHow could climate change affect my health?
Climate change is having major health impacts around the world, which are only expected to increase as our planet gets warmer. These impacts range from heat…
The Climate QuestionMining: Can we learn lessons from the past?
Lithium and copper are at the heart of the green energy transition, but what's the environmental cost of extraction? From the lithium mines of Salar de Atacama…
The Climate QuestionAre we ready for a super El Niño?
When a powerful El Niño strikes, it can devastate harvests, flood communities and kill thousands of people. Scientists have been warning for months that this…
The Climate QuestionThe battery revolution
From Mongolia to Texas, record numbers of lithium-ion batteries are being added to the world's electricity grids - helping to provide more reliable power and…
The Climate QuestionClimate overshoot: The world beyond 1.5°C
The United Nations says the world will pass its most important climate target within a few years. So can we bring the planet's temperature back down quickly?…
The Climate QuestionThe solar power boom in Pakistan and the Philippines
The Philippines and Pakistan are now the world's top solar panel importers. We find out why, and what other countries can learn from the boom! Cheap solar…
The Climate QuestionCan China build its way out of climate change?
Huge construction projects are transforming China - think enormous dams, giant solar power farms and a vast high-speed rail network. Will Beijing's…
The Climate QuestionHow will melting glaciers change Nepal?
As shown by the recent flash floods, Nepali mountain communities are on the front line of climate change. Can they adapt? Host Jordan Dunbar talks to two…
The Climate QuestionCan we cope with droughts?
Europe is reeling from a record-breaking drought which has closed nuclear power stations, stopped river traffic and sent food prices soaring. And there may now…
The Climate QuestionHow do we save Africa's forests?
African forests are vital for food and economic development, as well as for supporting millions of species of animals and plants. We find out how to protect…
The Climate QuestionIs air conditioning the answer to extreme heat?
Experts say we may now need to spend more on cooling our homes than heating them because of climate change. In fact, the International Energy Agency thinks the…
The Climate QuestionIs this a new era of wildfires?
Huge wildfires have been sweeping across Southern Europe and North America. Is climate change increasing the risk? And what can we do? Weather experts say the…
The Climate QuestionHow is climate change affecting motherhood?
Graihagh Jackson talks to mothers from India, Kenya and the UK about how climate change is affecting women's decisions about whether to have children and how…
The Climate QuestionDo climate protests ever work?
Climate activists have blocked highways, scaled oil rigs and even thrown soup at master artworks. But have protests ever made a difference? The modern green…
The Climate QuestionCould climate change fuel an epidemic?
Scientists are warning that climate change and deforestation increase the risk of outbreaks of deadly diseases. How big is the danger? And what action can we…
The Climate QuestionCan science fiction help us fight climate change?
The acclaimed US sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson is also a star in the world of climate activism because his work often features climate change - on Earth…
The Climate QuestionHow to build a climate friendly city
More than seven billion of us are expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. So what are the world’s great cities doing about climate change? Humans are now…
The Climate Question"Super" El Niños and climate change
Scientists say the El Niño weather pattern has started and this one is potentially so strong that it could have devastating effects in many parts of the world…
The Climate QuestionIs climate change ruining our sleep?
Parts of India have been facing extreme heat - with temperatures soaring past 46 degrees Celsius. But a less familiar story unfolds after dark. When…
The Climate QuestionHow will climate change affect insects?
Insects play a crucial role in food production and the spread of disease, as well as being keystone species in many ecosystems. What does a warmer world mean…
The Climate QuestionCan the World Cup cope with extreme heat?
Scorching temperatures are expected at this year’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. How will players and fans cope? And how will it affect the action…
The Climate QuestionCan we save the world's coral?
Corals protect humans and sustain 25% of all marine life. But reefs are under threat from climate change, and mass bleaching events mean that some scientists…
The Climate QuestionShould we mine the deep ocean?
In the global race for critical minerals - could the seabed provide solutions? Or should we leave these metal-rich environments undisturbed? Governments and…
The Climate QuestionThe electric car boom in South East Asia
Electric vehicle sales are soaring in Thailand and Vietnam. What’s behind the boom? And will it help the climate? Thais and Vietnamese are switching to…
The Climate QuestionQ+A: The carbon footprint of your tech and AI
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…
The Climate QuestionIs this climate change or just crazy weather?
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?…
The Climate QuestionChernobyl at 40: Is nuclear power back in fashion?
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…
The Climate QuestionCan technology help us fight flooding in cities?
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…
The Climate QuestionEarthquakes and climate change
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…
The Climate QuestionWhy are some cities banning fossil fuel ads?
How much does advertising influence what we buy and how we think? A growing number of cities are restricting adverts for fossil fuel products, from flights and…
The Climate QuestionWhat's it like being a chief heat officer?
As climate change makes the world hotter, some cities have appointed so-called Chief Heat Officers to try to improve their response to record-breaking…
The Climate QuestionCan better buses fix city pollution?
Transport is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and in cities around the world it is also one of the biggest daily frustrations…
The Climate QuestionQ&A: Beavers, solar panels in the Sahara and nuclear waste
The Climate Question panel answer your queries. Do beavers protect the planet? Should we put solar panels in deserts? And why does the world need to upgrade…
The Climate QuestionWhat's the climate cost of war?
War leaves a visible trail of destruction: lives and families devastated, homes and communities reduced to rubble. But there is also a climate cost of armed…
The Climate QuestionIs cutting methane the quick way to cool the planet?
Methane is much more powerful than carbon dioxide and emissions are still rising. So what can we do to tackle the human-made sources of this greenhouse gas?…
The Climate QuestionChina's green energy revolution
China is installing solar panels and wind turbines so fast that its greenhouse gases emissions may now have peaked. If this trend is confirmed, it would be a…
The Climate QuestionWhat can we do to reduce black carbon?
First broadcast in 2024. Graihagh Jackson finds out about the little know pollutant making us sick and driving the climate crisis. It commonly comes from…
The Climate QuestionCan winter sports survive a warming world?
Winter sport depends on one thing that is becoming less reliable each year: snow. As temperatures rise, glaciers are retreating, seasons are shifting, and…
- The Climate Question
What is climate anxiety and how can you cope with it?
Fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, dread and powerlessness are some of the many emotions associated with what’s called climate anxiety. A global survey of 10,000…
The Climate QuestionHow hot could the planet get?
We know the planet is getting hotter because of human-induced climate change. But just how hot could it get? In this show, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar…
The Climate QuestionCould ancient rice seeds help fight climate change?
How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight the growing impact of flooding, soil salinity and drought. The BBC’s William…
The Climate QuestionAre SUVs becoming a climate problem?
Across the world, cars are getting taller, wider and heavier. Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs, now dominate global car sales, and the trend has continued into…
The Climate QuestionAre there any quick fixes to the climate crisis?
People often ask whether there are any quick fixes to the climate crisis — easy wins that could cut emissions without waiting decades. This week, The Climate…
- The Climate Question
What can whales tell us about climate change?
Whales are among the largest animals to have ever lived – and scientists are discovering they also play a big role in the climate system. From the food they…
- The Climate Question
Q&A: The jobs of the future, nitrous oxide, ice cores
We answer YOUR climate questions – on everything from “green” careers to ice cores to the world’s electricity challenge! In this edition of The Climate…
- The Climate Question
What made the floods in South East Asia so deadly?
Storms, cyclones and flooding in South East Asia have killed close to 2000 people, devastating communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand…
- The Climate Question
What does the ocean do for us and the planet?
What do you think of when you think about our oceans? Maybe you see a picture of our planet with a big patch of blue? Maybe you think about storms or dramatic…
- The Climate Question
Who wins in the electric vehicles transition?
Across the world vehicle manufacturers are racing to make zero emission cars in the move away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles. It’s a huge market which could…
- The Climate Question
How can the world speed up climate action?
How can the world speed up its efforts to fight climate change? It’s been a dramatic fortnight at the COP climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem, with…
- The Climate Question
The oil lobbyist who tried to sink the first big climate deal
The American lawyer, oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman is said to have chain-smoked his way through almost every UN climate gathering from the…
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How does carbon dioxide shape our world?
Carbon dioxide is a molecule so important it has shaped life on Earth for billions of years. Without it, there would be no plants, no oceans, no people. But…
- The Climate Question
COP: Is this the world’s toughest event to organise?
Every year, tens of thousands of people — from world leaders to activists to celebrities— gather for one of the world’s most ambitious meetings: the UN’s…
- The Climate Question
Why does the Amazon matter?
The Amazon is probably the most famous rainforest on Earth. It’s home to Indigenous communities, one of the world's biggest rivers and a diversity of plant and…
- The Climate Question
Somalia: Where climate change meets conflict
BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt travels to Somalia to investigate the links between global warming and the decades-long conflict there. He hears how Somalis…
- The Climate Question
Can Mumbai cope with a changing monsoon?
Mumbai is India’s economic engine, but every rainy season this megacity comes to a virtual standstill as torrential rains flood streets, homes and transport…
- The Climate Question
Can we build better cities for mental health and the climate?
Today, more than half the world’s population live in cities – and as our numbers swell, so will our cities, especially those around the Pacific Rim, where it’s…
- The Climate Question
What do ice cores tells us about climate change?
What can ice cores tell us about the atmosphere millions of years ago? These cylinders of ice, drilled from glaciers and ice sheets around the world, preserve…
- The Climate Question
Why don’t we use more geothermal energy?
Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full…