The Climate Question

BBC World Service

Why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that.

  • 27 minutes 12 seconds
    Could ancient rice seeds help fight climate change?

    How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight flooding, increasing soil salinity and drought.

    The BBC’s William Kremer tells Graihagh Jackson about his visit to the Sundarbans in West Bengal, where cyclones and rising sea levels have devastated crops, and meets the rice growers drawing on the skills of their forefathers, to feed their families. Graihagh also gets a global overview from Dr Rafal Gutaker, rice expert at Kew Gardens, London.

    And if you'd like to hear more about rice, the BBC World Service's Food Chain programme has just made a show about the climate impacts of the crop. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5xp0

    Reporter in India: William Kremer Production Team: Diane Richardson, Graihagh Jackson, Octavia Woodward Sound Mix: Neil Churchill and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    If you have a question for the team, email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    20 January 2025, 7:00 am
  • 27 minutes 57 seconds
    News update: The Earth breaches its temperature target

    In 2024, the global temperature was more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Graihagh Jackson and BBC Climate Report Esme Stallard consider the significance of this key climate target being breached. Plus, why farmers in Malawi are switching to banana wine and how global warming might be forcing humpback whales to migrate even further.

    With Zeke Hausfather, Climate Scientist at the University of California, Berkeley; and BBC Africa reporter Ashley Lime.

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Production Team: Anne Okumu in Malawi; Diane Richardson, Ellie House and Sophie Eastaugh in London Sound Mix: James Beard and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    10 January 2025, 5:21 pm
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    How is climate change affecting animal migration?

    Every year, the great migration sees hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles, zebras and antelopes migrate from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya, in search of water and juicy grass. But rising temperatures and unpredictable weather are changing this epic animal journey dramatically. It’s the same for great white sharks, which are being spotted in areas where they’d never normally live.

    Tanzanian safari guide Neema Amos takes us into the Serengeti to explain why the wildebeest migration is so important. And shark expert Trisha Atwood reveals how these changes affect not just the animals, but our fight against climate change itself.

    Presenter Sophie Eastaugh is joined by: Neema Amos, Safari Guide in Tanzania Trisha Atwood, Associate Professor of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University Joseph Ogutu, Senior Statistician at University of Hohenheim

    Email us at [email protected]

    Producers: Sophie Eastaugh and Octavia Woodward Editors: Graihagh Jackson and Tom Bigwood Series Producer: Simon Watts Sound design and mixing: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

    Archive from the Sir David Attenborough programme, ‘Wildebeest: The Super Herd’, BBC Two, 2008

    This programme was first broadcast in March 2024

    6 January 2025, 7:00 am
  • 26 minutes 28 seconds
    Review of the year 2024

    From elections around the world to records in both temperatures and renewable energy, 2024 has been jam-packed with extreme weather and climate news. Graihagh Jackson, Jordan Dunbar and an expert panel reflect on the key climate stories of the year.

    Dr Rose Mutiso from the Energy for Growth Hub reveals a ‘silent solar revolution’ that has surged across rooftops in South Africa and beyond, helping the grid finally meet people’s electricity needs. We discuss the rise of electric vehicles – but also, deforestation. And the BBC’s Climate Reporter Esme Stallard explains why rising ocean temperatures are the red flag to which we should all be paying more attention.

    So, has 2024 been a good or bad year for the climate?

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporter: Jordan Dunbar Guests: Dr Rose Mutiso, Research Director at the Energy for Growth Hub Esme Stallard, BBC Climate Reporter

    Producer: Sophie Eastaugh Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and James Beard Editor: Simon Watts

    30 December 2024, 7:00 am
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    Quiz of the Year 2024

    As 2024 draws to a close, join Graihagh Jackson as she hosts The Climate Question’s inaugural Quiz of the Year. Two teams battle it out – with questions, games, and challenges looking back at the past year in climate change. Can you beat them?

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Competitors: Jordan Dunbar, Dr Rose Mutiso, Jacqui Wakefield, and Dr Akshat Rathi Producer: Ellie House Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Simon Watts

    23 December 2024, 7:00 am
  • 26 minutes 29 seconds
    Climate change and plastic - what's the connection?

    Plastics are everywhere – for good reason – they're cheap, abundant and can go into a myriad of different products from food packaging to vital medical equipment. But plastic waste has a devastating effect on the environment and the manufacturing process is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The world is trying to agree on a treaty to reduce plastics pollution but a recent meeting in South Korea ended in failure. Graihagh Jackson talks to experts on the past and future of plastics, and she hears a report from Malaysia, where plastic waste dumps can be up to 15 metres high.

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Malaysia: Leana Hosea Guests: Susan Frankel, author of "Plastic: A Toxic Love Story", and Dr Cressida Bowyer, Associate Professor in Arts and Sustainability at the University of Portsmouth. Producer: Octavia Woodward Production Support: Ellie House Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison Sound Mix: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    16 December 2024, 10:05 am
  • 26 minutes 29 seconds
    What do melting glaciers mean for the Himalayas?

    Climate change is melting thousands of glaciers in the Himalayas and having a devastating impact on the people who live there. The BBC's Caroline Davies has just been to the Pakistani side of the world's highest mountain range: she tells Graihagh Jackson how villagers are coping, and how they are determined to stay put despite the risks of floods and the disruption to their traditional way of life.

    You can watch Caroline's reporting from Pakistan here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00246nx/from-above-melting-glaciers

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Pakistan: Caroline Davies Producers in Pakistan: Fakhir Munir, Usman Zahid, Kamil Dayan Khan Producers in London: Ellie House and Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    9 December 2024, 7:00 am
  • 23 minutes 49 seconds
    Was the COP climate summit a success?

    For two weeks, nearly 200 countries have been in Azerbaijan trying to come to an agreement on climate change and how to finance the transition to clean and green economies in developing nations. At COP 29, there were walk-outs, there was drama, and then there was a deal - of sorts. Graihagh Jackson is joined by an all-star panel to re-cap what happened and ask what all of this means for our planet.

    Guests: Justin Rowlatt, BBC Climate Editor Adil Najam, Professor of International Relations and Environment at the Pardee School and President of WWF David Victor, Professor of Innovation and Public Policy at the University of California, San Diego Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the UN Convention on Wetlands

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenters: Graihagh Jackson with Jordan Dunbar Producer: Octavia Woodward Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell and Giles Aspen

    25 November 2024, 7:58 am
  • 12 minutes 17 seconds
    How does climate change affect me?

    In his latest climate change 101, Jordan Dunbar looks at how climate change affects our everyday lives. He discusses the impact on our weather with BBC forecaster Louise Lear; while BBC Africa business journalist Clare Muthinji looks at what a warmer world means for the economy - from prices at the supermarket to where we go on holiday!

    CORRECTION: In this episode we quote an London School of Economics report that found food prices are 37% higher due to climate change. This is incorrect. While the LSE report found food prices rising globally in part due to climate change, the 37% figure comes from a different piece of research.

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

    Presenter and Producer: Jordan Dunbar Researchers: Octavia Woodward, Osman Iqbal and Tsogzolmaa Shofyor Sound Design: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    22 November 2024, 5:52 pm
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    What do developing nations want from the big climate summit?

    When Cyclone Freddy swept through Malawi, it left 100s of thousands of people destitute. Now, survivors are among the first in the world to receive a new kind of climate compensation to relocate and rebuild their lives. This "loss and damage" funding is one of the key issues at the COP meeting in Baku. This year, the focus of the global climate summit is the help which more developed nations should give to countries in the Global South.

    Graihagh Jackson hears directly from Malawians who've received international climate aid, in their case from Scotland. And she asks Scottish First Minister, John Swinney: Is the money enough?

    Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721 Presenter: Graihagh Jackson BBC Africa Reporter in Malawi: Ashley Lime Producers: Octavia Woodward and Anne Okumu Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    18 November 2024, 7:00 am
  • 12 minutes 57 seconds
    What progress have we made on fighting climate change?

    In his latest climate change 101, Jordan Dunbar looks at the world's success stories. These include the rise of renewable energy, greener urban planning and deep - if insufficient - cuts in carbon emissions. His guest is Dr Caterina Brandmayr, Director of Policy and Translation, Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.

    Presenter and Producer: Jordan Dunbar Researchers: Octavia Woodward and Tsogzolmaa Shofyor Sound Design: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

    15 November 2024, 10:09 am
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