Communicating Climate-Related Risks via Storytelling and Statistics

Strategies are needed to effectively communicate the public health effects associated with climate change–amplified events, e.g., floods, wildfires, and heat waves. This review explores ways to translate complex statistics and present other critical aspects of climate change using storytelling (through narratives, exemplars, and images) to engage people and maximize comprehension and healthy behaviors. We also examine how to shape the strategy or strategies used based on audience characteristics such as adult age, numeracy, literacy, and ideology. We delineate the key psychological levers through which these strategies work—effort reduction, emotions, psychological distance, efficacy, and presence of relevant numbers—and propose a barrier-matched framework to choose communication approaches. We also illustrate key concepts with case studies. Developing long-term capacity to deliver effective messages is one step toward empowering people to act safely in response to threats, build a more resilient society, enhance quality of life, and save money and lives.