Clear climate-risk communication starts with a specific local hazard, evidence people can trust, and an explanation of what the risk means for their lives. Then make uncertainty visible, work with trusted local messengers, and offer realistic ways to respond. “Different communities” are not one audience: listen first, then adapt the language, examples, channels, and actions to the people who need the information.
Start with the decision people need to make
Before drafting a message, define its purpose. Is it meant to help residents prepare for extreme heat, understand a flood outlook, decide whether to attend a planning meeting, or weigh options for protecting a service or livelihood? A useful message gives people information they can apply to a decision; it does not simply describe a hazard.
Clarify who needs the information, what they may need to do, and when the information is relevant. Involve community partners in setting those priorities. They can help identify practical constraints—such as transportation, housing conditions, work schedules, language access, or limited internet access—that affect whether advice is usable. Do not assume which constraints matter to a particular audience; ask.
Listen before tailoring the message
Learn how people describe the hazard, what they are concerned about, where they get information, which messengers they trust, and what questions remain unanswered. Invite community members and local organizations to review the message before it is distributed, and make it possible for them to respond afterward.
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Listening is not just a way to make wording more appealing. It can reveal that a message addresses the wrong concern, uses an unfamiliar place name, overlooks an important service, or recommends an action people cannot take. Treat feedback as part of communication, not as an optional step after publication.
Ground the message in credible climate evidence
Use current, authoritative evidence appropriate to the hazard and location. The UN’s climate-communication guidance points communicators to peer-reviewed research and the IPCC’s assessments as authoritative sources. For local claims, identify the source and make clear what geography and time period it covers.
Separate observed conditions, projections, and decisions. A projection is not a guarantee about what will happen at a particular address; it is an estimate under stated assumptions. Do not imply a degree of local precision that the underlying evidence does not support. If evidence changes, tell people where updates will appear.
Use clear source attribution in the message itself—for example, name the agency or assessment and the date or period covered when that information is available. This lets readers distinguish an evidence-based finding from an interpretation or recommendation.
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Explain what the risk means locally
Name the hazard and connect it to familiar places, services, health, housing, livelihoods, or cultural resources that matter to the audience. A regional description becomes more useful when people can understand how it relates to their own surroundings and decisions.
Be precise about who or what may be affected without suggesting that everyone in a place faces the same exposure or has the same ability to respond. Communities contain different circumstances and priorities. Describe relevant differences only when they are supported by evidence or identified through local engagement, and avoid portraying people as passive victims. Community members also hold expertise, lead local responses, and develop solutions.
Describe uncertainty without making the risk sound unknowable
State what is known, what remains uncertain, why the uncertainty exists, and what would prompt an update. For example, a message can distinguish a well-supported trend from uncertainty about the timing or precise location of a future impact. This is more informative than either false certainty or a vague statement that “anything could happen.”
Uncertainty does not mean that nothing is known. Explain which parts of the assessment are dependable enough to inform a decision and which details should not be treated as settled. If the audience needs to act before uncertainty is resolved, say what decision can be made now and when new information is expected, if that timing is established.
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Use numbers with context
A number can clarify a risk only if people can tell what it measures. When a reliable estimate is available, explain its geography, time period, definition, and comparison. Use the same denominator when comparing groups or periods, and pair the figure with plain-language context.
Avoid unsupported precision and numbers detached from their conditions. If an estimate applies to a region or a defined period, do not present it as a prediction for every household or for an unspecified future. If no trustworthy local figure is available, explain the risk qualitatively rather than inventing a statistic.
Risk-communication advice from public-health sources can help with general practices such as explaining uncertainty and making numbers understandable, but it is not a substitute for climate-specific evidence. Match each numerical claim to a source that supports that particular hazard, place, and time frame.
Choose accessible language, formats, and channels
Use familiar words and short, scannable sections. Define technical terms when they are necessary, and remove detail that does not help the audience understand the risk or make a decision. A visual can help, but it should be geographically and culturally relevant, legible to its intended audience, and checked with that audience rather than assumed to be self-explanatory.
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Choose channels based on how the people you are trying to reach actually receive information. Do not assume that everyone has reliable internet access, uses the same platforms, reads the same language, or can use the same format. Ask community partners what works, and provide more than one route where needed. Check that the message remains understandable and usable in each format, including when shared without its original context.
Work with trusted messengers and invite dialogue
Local organizations and community members can help make information relevant and credible because they understand their audiences and have relationships that technical agencies may not. The National Academies chapter describes partner organizations as assets because they “are close to their audiences; know how to tailor information to those audiences effectively; and, most important, have trusted leaders who can be effective spokespersons”. Technical experts can complement those relationships by explaining the evidence and answering detailed questions.
Risk communication should be an exchange, not a one-way announcement. The EPA defines risk messaging as “an interactive exchange of information to help communicate potential hazards to people, property, or community between risk assessors, risk managers, communities, media, interest groups, and the public.” Provide a clear way to ask questions or share concerns, and explain how those responses will inform communication or risk-management decisions.
Pair risk information with feasible action
For each risk message, identify a realistic next step and explain what it is intended to accomplish. Depending on the situation, that may mean an individual preparation step, a way to get local updates, or participation in a community decision. Do not leave people with a frightening description of a hazard and no useful path forward.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical message-building checklist
- Purpose: What decision or response should this communication support?
- Audience: Who needs it, and what have community members said they need to know?
- Evidence: Is the source authoritative and current for this hazard, geography, and time period?
- Relevance: Does the message explain what the risk could mean for places, services, or concerns the audience recognizes?
- Uncertainty: Does it distinguish what is known from what remains uncertain and explain why?
- Numbers: Are figures defined, sourced, and accompanied by their geographic and time context?
- Access: Have intended readers helped check the language, visual, and distribution channels?
- Trust and dialogue: Are local partners involved, and can people ask questions or give feedback?
- Action: Is there a feasible next step, with its purpose and any relevant support made clear?
Use established guidance for the work
The UN’s Communicating on Climate Change guidance emphasizes authoritative science, trusted messengers, relatable stories, solutions, justice, and avoiding stereotypes. The EPA’s Risk Messaging Guidance addresses context, appropriate comparisons, risk-reduction behavior, and dialogue. The National Academies’ 2022 report, Engaging Socially Vulnerable Communities and Communicating About Climate Change–Related Risks and Hazards, discusses clear messages, community interpretation, trusted organizations, local ownership, action objectives, and risk-management options.
CDC’s Understanding and Applying Risk Communication Principles, dated September 17, 2026, offers general public-health communication guidance on uncertainty, numerical explanation, personal relevance, misinformation, and trusted partners. Apply those transferable practices carefully: climate claims still need evidence suited to the specific hazard and location.
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