Research from India and Kenya - FULL REPORT 1

This report details a research project conducted by Practical Action Consulting in India and Kenya to determine the most effective methods, phrasing, and visual tools for communicating climate change attribution information to high-level decision makers, media, and the general public.

• Stakeholders in Kenya and India generally preferred simplified language over technical terms. In Kenya, the public preferred the term 'worse' over 'severity' or 'intensity', while high-level decision makers and media in both countries generally preferred 'severity'.
• The communication of probability was found to be more difficult for the general public than the communication of frequency. In Kenya, it is recommended that probabilistic and statistical information not be communicated to the public due to a lack of understanding.
• Uncertainty information is often perceived as confusing or unnecessary by non-experts. While high-level decision makers with statistical backgrounds preferred precise numerical ranges (e.g., +/- 10%), the Kenyan public showed a clear preference for qualitative descriptors like 'fairly certain'.
• Visual communication preferences vary by stakeholder group. The general public preferred visuals containing photographs, whereas high-level decision makers preferred graphs. However, many participants found confidence indicators and certain icons (such as dice, eggs in a basket, and clocks) confusing.
• Translation into local languages (Swahili and Hindi) presented significant challenges, as technical terms like 'probability', 'likelihood', and 'chance' often translate to the same word in Swahili, and 'frequency' was difficult to translate into Hindi.
• Trust in climate information is heavily dependent on the source. In both India and Kenya, high-level decision makers and media rely most on national meteorological departments. The public in Kenya trusts radio and TV, while the public in India trusts TV and newspapers.
• There is a high level of interest in extreme event attribution information across all surveyed groups, with 41% of all participants responding 'definitely yes' when asked if they wanted to know more.

APA

Budimir, D. M., & Brown, S. (2017). Research from India and Kenya - FULL REPORT 1. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Communicating-extreme-weather-event-attribution-FULL-REPORT.pdf

Chicago

Budimir, Dr. Mirianna, and Sarah Brown. Research from India and Kenya - FULL REPORT 1. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2017. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Communicating-extreme-weather-event-attribution-FULL-REPORT.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Budimir |first1=Dr. Mirianna |last2=Brown |first2=Sarah |title=Research from India and Kenya - FULL REPORT 1 |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=March 2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Communicating-extreme-weather-event-attribution-FULL-REPORT.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{budimir2017research, author = {Budimir, Dr. Mirianna and Brown, Sarah}, title = {{Research from India and Kenya - FULL REPORT 1}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Communicating-extreme-weather-event-attribution-FULL-REPORT.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }