Meteorologists have come under fire on social media for reporting on heatwaves in the UK during July.
The BBC received hundreds of abusive emails and comments on Twitter, questioning their reporting, telling them to "pull themselves together" and accusing them of "spreading panic", noting that it had been warm before.
A record 19 degrees Celsius was measured in Great Britain on July 2022, 40,2.
Matt Taylor, a meteorologist at the BBC, says he has never received such messages in his 25-year career.
"I have never faced such a large number of offensive messages before.
"I kind of disconnected from everything because it got too depressing to read everything," he said.
- Scientists warn: There is a high chance that global warming will exceed the limit of 1,5 degrees
- Five things we learned from a new study on climate change
- We cannot fix the consequences of climate change - UN report
The British Royal Meteorological Society condemned such messages.
Great Britain faced a big rise in temperatures last week.
The forecast for many areas was that the temperature would surpass the previous record of 38,7 degrees, and 15 fire stations declared a fire emergency.
The Meteorological Agency has estimated that heat waves are now 10 times greater due to climate change.
Forecasters from the Met Office and the Royal Society have also been targeted by internet trolls.
Members of the society have faced "public ridicule, accusations of lying or suggestions they have been blackmailed", said Royal Meteorological Society chief executive Professor Liz Bentley.
"The number of offensive comments increases when the climate change message is central to the story," she said.
Chief Meteorologist Alex Deakin said it was kind of scary.
"All of this offends and frustrates my colleagues, some of whom are leaders in climate science.
"Show some respect and do a bit more research rather than believing the stories of Bob in the pub or Tony on the YouTube channel," he said.
Watch the video: How the world has warmed since 1880
The tweets were sent to the email address and the Twitter account BBC Vremenska prognoza, and in some of them, personal insults were also expressed against employees.
"It's only summer," read one of the comments on Twitter regarding advice on how to keep people cool.
Other users of this social network accused the Meteorological Agency and the BBC of spreading "panic and hysteria" and "extreme intimidation".
"It seems you didn't feel it summer 1975 and 1976. Pull yourself together, this won't last long and we'll be freezing again," one of the comments on Twitter addressed to meteorologists.
- Bullying on the Internet - how to protect yourself
- What all the heat can do to the human body
- Is it possible to cool the house during hot summer days
- Windcatcher - ancient cooling technology
The highest temperature in 1976 was 35,9, which is four degrees lower than that recorded on July 19, 2022.
Nine of the 10 hottest days on record in the UK have occurred since 1990, according to Met Office statistics.
The hot day of 1976 ranks 13th on the list of the hottest days in the UK.
Periods of extreme heat occur in natural weather patterns, but they are becoming ubiquitous more common around the world, are more intense and last longer as a result of climate change caused by the human factor.
"What frustrates me the most is when I am accused of twisting the truth.
"As meteorologists, we report on the facts - there is no conspiracy," says Tomaž Šafernecker, a BBC meteorologist.
Jennifer Bartram, a BBC meteorologist, linked internet trolling to the high level of climate change misinformation circulating on social media.
"I've noticed that the abuse is getting creepier and more personal, and it's quite demoralizing because we're just trying to do our jobs."
Matt Taylor said the coverage of the heatwave was "really emotional" and described it as "a real turning point in public attitudes and understanding of what has happened to the global climate".
He adds that people follow the weather forecast very emotionally and that's how they react and comment.
"Our climate has changed, so our reporting and response has to change as well, and all we're trying to do is get people the facts," he said.
The BBC Weather Forecast announced that it is unacceptable for anyone to receive such messages on social media just because they are doing their job.
Watch the video: Tricks for cooling down to 40 degrees
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter i Viber. If you have a topic proposal for us, contact us at bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
