The Climate Question

African forests are vital for food and economic development, as well as for supporting millions of species of animals and plants. We find out how to protect them better with one of Africa’s top environmentalists!

From the giant Congo rainforest to the Kenyan highlands and the mangroves of Mozambique, Africa’s forests are some of the most spectacular places on Earth. And these sensitive ecosystems are not just important for Africa: they play a vital role in the global climate because they store huge amounts of carbon dioxide and pump out oxygen.

Kenyan environmentalist Wanjira Mathai has been campaigning to protect and nurture forests for decades. She tells The Climate Question about the challenges they now face across Africa from rapid urbanisation, mining and logging. The solution, according to Wanjira, is to place a proper economic value on the environmental services provided by forests and the communities who live in them – whether that’s supplying water and food, or helping to prevent floods sweeping through cities such as Nairobi.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Producers: Diane Richardson and Melanie Stewart-Smith

Experts say we may now need to spend more on cooling our homes than heating them because of climate change. In fact, the International Energy Agency thinks the equivalent of 10 new air conditioners every second will be installed for the next 30 years!

This surge in air con will put strain on the world’s electricity grids, which are still mostly powered by fossil fuels. The units also pump heat into the streets outside our homes – making cities feel even hotter when we step outside.

But there are alternative options – like redesigning houses to include more shading and increase the air flow, or using fans and misting systems. We could also plant more trees or even change the colours of our homes to reflect more sunlight!

In this edition of The Climate Question, Host Graihagh Jackson talks to BBC Tokyo Correspondent, Kurumi Mori, and Radhika Khosla, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Oxford.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Producers: Diane Richardson and Melanie Stewart-Smith

Huge wildfires have been sweeping across Southern Europe and North America. Is climate change increasing the risk? And what can we do?

Weather experts say the world is starting to see new types of wildfire – including enormous Pyrocumulonimbus fire clouds that spit lightning and black hail.

These infernos can burn for more than a year. They can also spawn fire tornadoes, which move at more than 200 kilometres an hour, destroying everything in their path.

The Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar talk to John Vaillant, the author of “Fire Weather”, about how wildfires are increasing in intensity and frequency, and how they are burning in places they have never burned before.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Producers: Simon Watts, Diane Richardson and Melanie Stewart-Smith

Graihagh Jackson talks to mothers from India, Kenya and the UK about how climate change is affecting women's decisions about whether to have children and how to raise them.

Her guests are Bhavreen Kandhari, a clean air campaigner from Delhi; Dr Susan Chomba, a Kenyan forest scientist and environmentalist; and Dr Elizabeth Cripps, a political philosopher specializing in climate justice. This programme was first broadcast in 2025.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Produced and presented by Graihagh Jackson

Climate activists have blocked highways, scaled oil rigs and even thrown soup at master artworks. But have protests ever made a difference?

The modern green movement started in the 1970s when Greenpeace sailed a fishing boat towards a nuclear test site in Alaska. It now encompasses everything from bake-ins and marches to Radiohead concerts.

A small minority of activists even favour breaking the law to raise awareness about climate change. Some of them have superglued themselves to railings and blocked bridges.

BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt has made a new podcast series about the green movement – and the heated splits among activists about tactics. He talks to Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar about the past - and future - of climate protest.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Producers: Simon Watts, Diane Richardson and Ellie House

Scientists are warning that climate change and deforestation increase the risk of outbreaks of deadly diseases. How big is the danger? And what action can we take?

Dr Neil Vora is a so-called “disease doctor” - an epidemiologist who has travelled the world to help trace the sources of outbreaks of Ebola, cow pox and rabies.

Dr Vora tells The Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar about his specialism in zoonotic diseases, which are caused by infections passing from animals to humans. He is worried that the combination of climate change and cutting down forests will lead to more human-animal contact, and that the higher stress levels experienced by animals such as bats and monkeys will make them more likely to pass on deadly pathogens.

Dr Vora says we need to act now to protect forests and avoid the possibility of epidemics or even a pandemic.

Neil Vora started his career at the US Centres For Diseases Control and Prevention. He is now Executive Director at the Preventing Pandemics at the Source Coalition.

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

Producers: Diane Richardson, Jordan Dunbar and Melanie Stewart-Smith

The acclaimed US sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson is also a star in the world of climate activism because his work often features climate change - on Earth and beyond.

Robinson has been a guest speaker at the COP climate summit, and novels such as The Ministry For The Future and The Mars Trilogy are admired by everyone from Barack Obama to former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres. Robinson's books are not just imaginative but scientifically accurate, and some of their ideas have even inspired new thinking about climate-proofing technology.

Kim Stanley Robinson spoke to the Climate Question team in 2024.

Presenters: Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson

Got a question for The Climate Question? Email us: [email protected]

More than seven billion of us are expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. So what are the world’s great cities doing about climate change?

Humans are now city creatures – with more than half the world’s population already living in urban environments, and huge growth expected in cities in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa during the rest of the 21st century.

So mayors are on the front line of dealing with climate change – whether it’s keeping people cool during heatwaves or redesigning cities to cope with floods.

In this edition of The Climate Question, Host Jordan Dunbar hears about inspiring solutions from cable cars in Colombia to water parks in the Netherlands and city gardens in the Philippines.

His guests are Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the mayor of Freetown in Sierra Leone and Co-Chair of the C40 Cities Coalition, and Rogier van den Berg, an architect and urban planner who’s Global Director at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Jordan, Yvonne and Rogier also discuss the crucial role that cities need to play in reducing carbon emissions by making buildings more energy-efficient and rethinking transport.

Got a question or comment? You can email the team: [email protected]

Producers: Jordan Dunbar, Diane Richardson, Melanie Stewart-Smith

Scientists say the El Niño weather pattern has started and this one is potentially so strong that it could have devastating effects in many parts of the world. So how does El Niño work exactly? And what’s the connection with climate change?

El Niño starts when water temperatures rise near the Pacific coast of South America, but the impact on weather is felt around the globe. Some regions are more likely to experience severe droughts or more powerful storms; others could face the threat of severe flooding.

This “Super” El Niño is likely to add 0.2 or 0.3 degrees to the global temperature. When added to the impact of climate change, scientists say the world could be headed for a new heat record in 2027.

In this edition of The Climate Question, hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar chat to Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College, London, about what might happen and how the world can prepare.

Got a question or comment? You can email the team: [email protected]

Producer: Grace Braddock

Picture Credit: Reuters

Parts of India have been facing extreme heat - with temperatures soaring past 46 degrees Celsius. But a less familiar story unfolds after dark. When temperatures stay high after sunset, an essential human need is threatened: sleep.

Scientific research suggests that hot nights are leading many of us around the world to lose shut-eye already. Our bodies need to cool down to fall asleep – but hotter nights make that much harder. And the impacts go way beyond just feeling tired; disrupted sleep has links to poor cardiovascular health and depression. Women, children, the elderly and those living in hot countries with less income are most affected.

As global temperatures rise due to climate change, experts warn that the impact on our sleep – and our health – will only worsen.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson speaks to sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock and BBC Marathi reporter, Janhavee Moole. They explore how rising temperatures are disrupting sleep in India and beyond – and share practical tips on how to stay cool in a warming world.

Producer: Graihagh Jackson, Janhavee Moole and Grace Braddock