Ansätze und Erfolgsbedingungen in der Kommunikation zum Umgang mit Extremereignissen

Title translation: Approaches and conditions of success for communications in dealing with extreme weather events. Making climate change adaptation fit for everyday life while strengthening self-provision.   

Weather recordings and damage statistics show that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in Germany has increased over the past twenty years. Due to climate change, this trend is expected to worsen particularly in the case of heat waves, floods and local heavy rainfall. However, much of the damage that can be expected in this way can be reduced or avoided by means of precautionary activities. When trying to motivate individuals to implement precautionary measures, the communication of risks and measures that is appropriate to the target groups plays an important role.

In the publication at hand, the authors present a media resonance analysis on the way in which extreme weather events have been portrayed in the daily press. The findings from this analysis are compared with the results of a literature analysis on purpose-oriented risk communication. The principles for adequate communication derived from this are put to the test in two representative surveys and applied in Berlin in a campaign on heat and health, described in detail in the report.