Main content

Have our climate models been wrong?

Climate change models have been an important part of science but some are now arguing they’ve concentrated too much on extreme scenarios and could harm efforts to fix the planet.

Climate change models have been a key tool to project what could happen with global warming in the future. But there’s a debate in the scientific community and some are saying too much emphasis has been put on the worst-case scenarios. Others argue that the impacts of climate change are too unpredictable and all scenarios, even the most serious, less likely ones, need to be kept on the table.

All agree, though, that human-induced climate change is happening and that even the most likely projected temperature increases will be serious and potentially very damaging.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producers: Xavier Zapata and John Murphy

(An iceberg that broke away from a Glacier in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field which is experiencing high rates of melting. Credit: David Silverman /Getty Images)

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Mon 9 Mar 202009:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 5 Mar 202003:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202004:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202006:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202007:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202014:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202015:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202018:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202020:06GMT
  • Thu 5 Mar 202021:06GMT
  • Sat 7 Mar 202017:06GMT
  • Mon 9 Mar 202000:06GMT
  • Mon 9 Mar 202009:06GMT

Podcast