Role of Communication Media in Climate Variability and Change within Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon.

Abstract

Climate variability and change today has been an international debate issue with communities worldwide presenting awareness deficiency as far as climate change is concerned. The study seeks to assess the extent of climate variability in Bamenda, analyse the programs broadcasted about climate change, investigate the level of receptiveness from the audience and probe into other ways that the media is engaging the population apart from message dissemination in climate variability and change perspectives. A purposive sample of 33 was drawn from 22 media outlets, while climatic data were collected from the North West Regional Meteorological Service in Bamenda. Results revealed that rainfall has been decreasing while the temperature has been rising. The radio is the most popular media used in climate communication (39.4%), followed by a combination of radio/TV (15.2%), online (15.2%), print (15.2%), TV only (9.1%) and a combination of print and online (6.15). Climate change communication is plagued by inadequate personnel, non-mastery of the science, inadequate slots and poor coverage. Faced with these, the media should intensify the production, broadcast and publishing of climate change content.