Search Climate Insights Directory

The report finds that while only 5% of event-related local television segments provided climate change context, these segments reached over 17 million people across the 50 largest U.S. media markets. Audiences surged during extreme events, with local television viewership doubling in Orlando during Hurricane Ian and increasing 78% in Los Angeles during Tropical Storm Hilary. Extreme heat events, specifically the July 2023 heat streak in Phoenix, were most frequently linked to climate change, accounting for 48% of all climate-contextualized segments. Analysis of closed captioning shows that 96% of contextualized segments highlighted major impacts in categories such as health and safety, vulnerable communities, power supply, the economy, and travel disruption.