Climate change communication workshop concludes at VTV

This was a chance for experts in the field and weather presenters from 7 Asian nations and international organisation related to climate change to discuss how to communicate news related to climate change more effectively.

This was the World Meteorological Organisation or WMO’s first workshop on climate change communication for weather presenters in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese and foreign participants at the event shared experiences on weather presenting and climate change communication, noting that weather presenters play an important role in communicating new on the issue.

According to Suhatcha Swatdiponphallop and Sunida Swatdiponphallop - weather presenters of Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Channel 5, the good thing to be weather presenters is to make everything simplified so people will understand easily, no need to use more scientific words as people might not understand and will ignore the information. Vietnam’s efforts and news on climate change as well as extreme weather events were highly appreciated at the event.

Michael Williams, Chief of Communications and Public Affairs, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said: "Vietnam is clearly ahead of many other countries on climate change communication. I can tell this just from this meeting, a lot more effort has gone into it and a lot more practice. They brought some very interesting ideas to the table that a lot of other countries can benefit from".

Pham Thi Thanh Thu, Director of Weather and Disaster Broadcast Centre Vietnam Television, said: "In case of extreme weather events, the most affected areas will be prioritised in the weather news. When we report from that scene, we must act like we live in that area, we understand the terrain, the customs, the weather in that area. This makes news more lively and emotional. We also share our condolences with their loss and go through the extreme weather with them".

With the participation of top media agencies and meteorology agencies in the South Asia Region, the event is a chance for them to connect and open up opportunities for collaboration in climate change communication in the future. This is important as Asia is projected to be the most vulnerable region to floods and rising sea levels due to global warming.