The Climate Question

Scientists think the main system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean - known as AMOC - may be weakening. How will that impact our climate?
Professor Penny Holliday is the Chief Scientific Officer at the UK's National Oceanography Centre. She joins Graihagh Jackson and Esme Stallard in the studio to discuss her many years studying the strength and variability of AMOC.
Producers: Graihagh Jackson, Diane Richardson and Grace Braddock
Sound Mix: Dafydd Evans and Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts
Photo by Joe Klamar / AFP via Getty Images

Climate change is having major health impacts around the world, which are only expected to increase as our planet gets warmer. These impacts range from heat stroke to the spread of tropical diseases, from hospitals losing power during extreme weather to the effect on our mental health.
In a show first broadcast in 2025, Graihagh Jackson talks to Dr Jemilah Mahmoud, executive director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Malaysia and Dr Omnia El Omrani, vice-chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, about the challenges the medical sector faces, as well as possible solutions and how healthcare must also address its own emissions problem.
If you have a question or a comment, email us at theclimatequestion@bbc.com or leave a WhatsApp message at + 44 8000 321 721
Presenter: Graihagh Jackson
Producer: Diane Richardson
Research: Jordan Dunbar
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound engineer: Tom Brignell and Philip Bull
Editor: Simon Watts

Lithium and copper are at the heart of the green energy transition, but what's the environmental cost of extraction?
From the lithium mines of Salar de Atacama in Chile to the historic copper mines of Butte Montana, author James Crawford has visited the extraordinary landscapes and mining operations powering the renewable energy transition.
Graihagh and Jordan chat to James Crawford about his new book Vanishing Earth, and the legacy of mining repair and restoration. Can we learn from the past to mine better in the future?
If you have a Climate Question you’d like answered, email: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com
Hosts: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar
Production team: Diane Richardson and Melanie Stewart-Smith
Sound engineers: Ricardo McCarthy and Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts
Photo: Lithium ponds in Chile (courtesy James Crawford)

When a powerful El Niño strikes, it can devastate harvests, flood communities and kill thousands of people. Scientists have been warning for months that this one could become the strongest on record. The question is: are we ready?
In this episode of The Climate Question, hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar find out how communities in Kenya and Peru are preparing for a potentially historic El Niño.
They speak to BBC Nairobi Correspondent Thomas Mukhwana and Miguel Aristegui from the international development charity Practical Action about the challenges that lie ahead. Miguel's charity worked with the Peruvian government on an action plan it introduced after a localised El Niño event in 2017.
From flood-prone neighbourhoods in Nairobi to Peru's newly installed meteorological radar network, we explore what happens when weather extremes collide with existing vulnerabilities. Can early warning systems, emergency planning and climate adaptation reduce the risks? Or will many communities remain exposed when the worst impacts arrive?
If you have a Climate Question you’d like answered, email: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com
Producers: Diane Richardson, Jordan Dunbar and Melanie Stewart-Smith
Sound engineer: Ben Andrews, Ricardo McCarthy and Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts

From Mongolia to Texas, record numbers of lithium-ion batteries are being added to the world's electricity grids - helping to provide more reliable power and speeding up the transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
China is installing over half of these new batteries, often in giant battery farms, followed by the United States and Europe. And with prices dropping fast, the trend is likely to continue and spread to more developing countries.
But is battery development moving fast enough to help us meet our climate goals? And what about alternatives to lithium-ion technology like using air, water or even sand? Could these types of batteries help us with other energy problems such as storing heat over the winter.
In this edition of The Climate Question, Hosts Graihagh Jackson talks to Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter at Bloomberg News and host of Bloomberg Green's Zero podcast.
Producers: Diane Richardson and Melanie Stewart-Smith
Sound engineer Gareth Jones and Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts