Why Won't It Stop Raining? The Case for Global Wetting AND Global Warming

About this episode

Emma Burlow challenges traditional climate communication by discussing the importance of global wetting in relation to sustainability.

In this timely and practical solo episode of Straight Talking Sustainability , host Emma Burlow challenges decades of climate communication focused on warming, heat, and melting ice caps by asking a provocative question: should we be talking more about global wetting, given that people find it incredibly easy to talk about weather (especially rain) but remarkably difficult to discuss sustainability or climate change? Inspired by Professor Ed Hawkins' legendary climate visuals from the University of Reading (creator of the warming stripes), Emma demonstrates how shifting conversations from abstract global temperature averages to tangible rainfall increases, flooding disruption, and extreme weather costs creates immediate relevance for businesses, cuts through resistance, and opens doors for people who would never engage with traditional warming narratives. Emma opens with a delightful icebreaker from Dr Matt Sawyer's Lighthouse carpentry project session: "what colour is the sky where you are?" This simple weather question highlights how naturally we discuss meteorological conditions in the UK (will it ever stop raining becoming a constant refrain), yet struggle to connect these…

People in this episode

Host: Emma Burlow

Topics covered

• climate communication
• global wetting
• sustainability
• extreme weather
• business engagement

Keywords

• climate change
• rain
• flooding
• weather talk
• sustainability engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Reading

More episodes of Straight Talking Sustainability

• Making Sustainability Less Miserable with Lucy Hawthorne, Climate Play · June 7, 2026 · 43 min
• Why You Must See the People's Emergency Briefing! · May 31, 2026 · 22 min
• Why Sustainability isn’t the Sustainability Director’s Problem with Joss Tantram, Terrafiniti · May 24, 2026 · 45 min
• Everything, Everywhere, All at Once · May 17, 2026 · 21 min
• Shifting Mindsets with Charly Cox · May 10, 2026 · 50 min
• How to scale sustainability and the Prisoner’s Dilemma · May 3, 2026 · 21 min