蜜芽传媒

On a hot and wet day in Dhaka, more than 20 of Bangladesh鈥檚 most prominent journalists came together with a common goal 鈥� to discuss the weather.

But this meeting of media minds wasn鈥檛 about small talk. It was about big ideas. Ideas about how they, as the country鈥檚 gatekeepers of information, could use the power of their collective reach to enhance people鈥檚 understanding of the climate issues increasingly impacting the region.

For journalists around the world, staying ahead of unpredictable and unprecedented weather events caused by climate change is a constant challenge. Between 1970 and 2021, around 12,000 disasters involved extreme weather, climate and water-related hazards. These hazards resulted in staggering losses, including an estimated US$4.3 trillion in economic damage and the deaths of approximately 2 million people. The burden fell disproportionately on low and middle-income nations, which accounted for 90% of the fatalities.

Weather and climate information services play an essential role in supporting people to react to changing weather patterns and resulting natural hazards 鈥� from cyclones to floods and landslides 鈥� by providing vital information that enables action, particularly during early warnings and risk assessments.

蜜芽传媒 Media Action鈥檚 BRIDGES project aims to build climate resilience through strengthened communication 鈥� from observing and forecasting the weather, to supporting disaster preparedness, early action and longer-term adaptation to climate change.

Strengthening climate communication

The BRIDGES Bangladesh team brought together 21 senior media professionals 鈥� chief news editors from national media outlets 鈥� to discuss the shared realities of disseminating information during extreme weather events, from administrative challenges to financial constraints.

The workshop, titled 鈥�Reporting for Impact: Enhancing Weather and Climate Information Services,鈥� was essential in shaping their perceptions of the importance of presenting weather and climate content with the prominence it deserves. Despite the media鈥檚 potential to reach last-mile communities with timely, accurate and actionable information, gaps remain in thematic understanding, skills and motivation.

Our research shows that 92% of people in Bangladesh want advice on how to prepare for extreme weather events, but only 39% said they understood the language used around climate information, and just 20% said it was easy to understand.

Voices like these echo concerns shared across other BRIDGES countries. In Nepal, for instance, community radio stations are working to close this information gap by simplifying complex meteorological data and making it understandable to everyone.

Balika adds that the project has transformed how her team serves their listeners:

Similarly, in Nepal, newsrooms are making audience engagement central to their approach:

Telling human stories of resilience

Behind every climate story are the people most affected. For Bindu Chaudhary, a 30-year-old producer at Gurbaba FM in Nepal, the mission is deeply personal. 

Bindu is a flood survivor. During heavy monsoon rains ten years ago, surging water from the Duduwa River inundated her mud house at midnight. Her family now lives in a safer area, but each rainfall brings back that haunting memory.

Every morning, she rides her scooter along a cratered dirt road to reach the radio station, which is run by a small team of seven. She checks updates from Nepal鈥檚 Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, and the government hotline (1155) before producing her show Hello Mausam! (鈥淗ello Weather!鈥�).

Using credible, verified sources, she crafts clear, actionable weather updates 鈥� when heavy rain is expected, how to prepare, and who to contact if flooding occurs. She also produces social media content to reach younger audiences and those with smartphones.

Bindu is one of 30 journalists trained under the BRIDGES project to share trusted weather and climate information that encourages communities to take action.

Connecting the dots across regions

Across BRIDGES countries 鈥� Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya 鈥� journalists are helping audiences translate weather forecasts into life-saving action, by listening to their audiences and understanding what they need.

Looking ahead

Journalists have an essential role in sharing accurate, trusted weather and climate information to those who need it most. During the Dhaka workshop, participants committed to improving the editorial treatment of climate stories and supporting future capacity-building activities for local journalists.

Their involvement will offer valuable learning opportunities and motivation for reporters to produce stronger, more impactful content to inform audiences around the country - and, ultimately, save lives.

Sharing our insights at IUCN

蜜芽传媒 Media Action is an official media partner of the International Union for Conservation of Nature鈥檚 (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi. As part of this collaboration, 蜜芽传媒 Media Action will host a media pavilion throughout the Congress (9鈥�13 October 2025), with contributions from the 蜜芽传媒 Studios Natural History Unit exploring how storytelling can inspire and inform audiences about the intertwined issues of threatened biodiversity and the changing climate.