Michael Fish, 62, recently retired as Britain’s, and possibly the world’s, longest serving broadcast meteorologist. He joined the Met Office in 1962, has written numerous articles on travel and weather and acted as consultant for several meteorological books. Famously, and incorrectly, remembered for failing to forecast the Great Storm of 1987, he now gives lectures, writes articles and publicises climate change on behalf of Government agencies.
What one single thing convinces you most that climate change is taking place?
Apart from anything else, just looking out of the window at the moment convinces me. The trees are still looking fabulous and the flowers are still in bloom. It is November and winter has not yet arrived.
What is the most important thing that every one of us can do to make a difference to climate change?
Every little helps. People should spend a little bit of money on insulating their home or changing their light bulbs. These things don’t have to cost a lot and some of them will save on power costs as well. More people will be killed by global warming than have been killed in any single human conflict. We all have a responsibility to do something about it.
Given that we are likely to see more extreme weather patterns in the foreseeable future, how can we better forecast and prepare for extreme weather-related events?
The Met Office is pretty good at doing what it does, but the Government is not investing enough money in forecasting future weather patterns. The rate of climate change is one of the most difficult things to forecast and we must ensure we invest in technology and monitoring equipment to make sure we can forecast these things effectively and accurately.
Are the UK and US Governments doing enough to raise awareness and tackle the issue of climate change?
The Government has put climate change on the agenda, but I would not say it has done enough. There are not enough councils getting involved in green energy and recycling. This Government also seems to have a reluctance to spend money on science.
