While warnings and health advice came through reliably everywhere, the climate science behind the heat was explained least often in the formats younger audiences rely on most for their news.
We partner with the University of Exeter to publish original research that consistently tracks UK broadcast reporting on climate change, for the first time.
Using newly-developed AI technology, we track BBC, ITN, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky News TV and radio news bulletins and online news services.
Register below to be the first to receive insights from Climate News Tracker.
What we track
1
The quantity of daily climate news reports.
2
The effectiveness of climate reporting against a consistent set of criteria.
3
Opportunities for a potential climate angle in neighbouring subjects such as economics or health.
4
Accuracy in climate information reporting.
Insights
How news websites and live blogs covered the June 2026 heatwave
Heat warnings dominated, but articles were far less likely to explain what those warnings meant or connect the record temperatures to climate change.
Record heat, record warnings: What UK TV and radio told audiences during the June heatwave
The June 2026 heatwave brought record temperatures, only the second-ever red extreme heat warning, and unprecedented pressure on hospitals and emergency services. Climate News Tracker analysed 188 TV and radio programmes to understand what information audiences received as the story unfolded.
Public service news accounts rarely linked the June heatwave to climate change on Instagram and TikTok
Climate News Tracker analysed how the June 2026 heatwave was covered on Instagram and TikTok by the UK’s major public service media organisations. Compared with TV and radio, social media posts were far less likely to link the record temperatures to climate change.
During the hottest May day on record, what did UK TV and radio news focus on?
Climate News Tracker analysed 97 UK TV and radio programmes during the record breaking May 2026 heatwave to understand what information audiences received about the heatwave, its health impacts and its links to climate change.
Landmark climate adaptation report broke through in the morning but vanished from late evening news
Climate News Tracker analysed how 25 UK TV and radio programmes covered the Climate Change Committee’s Well Adapted UK report, which warned that climate inaction could cost the UK economy up to £260bn a year by mid-century.
World Cup heat warnings struggle to break through UK broadcast news agenda
With the World Cup less than a month away, two major publications warned of dangerous heat risks for players. Just two of the 68 UK news programmes monitored covered either story.
Santa Marta fossil fuel summit: Just one UK broadcast programme covered it
Just one of the 117 UK TV and radio programmes monitored covered the Santa Marta summit, the world’s first international conference focused on transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Eight in ten UK TV and radio programmes gave no coverage to Europe’s biggest annual climate report
Just two of the 24 UK TV and radio programmes monitored gave substantive coverage to the European State of the Climate 2025 report on the day it was published.
Climate coverage gap widens as Iran war dominates broadcast agenda in Q1 of 2026
Climate News Tracker’s latest analysis finds the Iran war reshaped the UK broadcast agenda, even as climate coverage continued its year-on-year decline.
