Weather Kids: Earth 2050, unlivable
GLOBAL TV audiences who tuned in for their local weather reports on March 21 were surprised by a special forecast from the year 2050. Young TV meteorologists warned viewers that rising temperatures will bring more of the catastrophic climate change impacts that are affecting people and the global economy. Risks include exposure of 94 percent of the world’s children to climate hazards, threats to food security and a potential rise in taxpayers’ bills worth trillions of US dollars.
One young anchor said, “Everything is crazy. Schools are closed because it’s too hot. Wildfires are burning whole towns. And floods are making everything wet and gross.” The forecast ended with a powerful plea from the children: “It’s not just a weather report to us. It is our future.”
The fictional futuristic show, “Weather Kids,” is a campaign created by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the World Meteorological Organization and The Weather Channel, the flagship consumer brand of The Weather Co. It aired on news channels in more than 80 countries around the world, launching a few days ahead of the World Meteorological Day.
Supported by global celebrities and UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors, including Oscar-winning Malaysian actor Michelle Yeoh, American actor Connie Britton and Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, it intended to mobilize people around the world to take meaningful climate action for future generations. Viewers are encouraged to sign a pledge to act by making financial decisions that align with sustainability and educating themselves on climate solutions and global climate action.
Designed to emulate weather reports television viewers see every day, the projected forecasts used data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and UNDP’s Climate Horizons data platform.
Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, said that the Weather Kids’ voice alerted us to a probable future of “an increasingly uninhabitable planet” for today’s and tomorrow’s children. He advocated rapid course correction including “decarbonizing our economies and advancing access to affordable, clean energy for all; protecting and restoring our natural world; and empowering communities to have their say in their countries’ climate pledges.”