Study analyzes international media coverage of natural disasters

A study conducted by the University of Bonn, the University of Warwick, and Imperial College London, published in ‘Nature Human Behaviour’, examines the factors that drive international media coverage of natural disasters. Analyzing data from the European Commission’s ‘Europe Media Monitor’, which tracks 20,000 news sources across 190 countries, researchers identified three primary drivers for cross-border reporting: the suddenness of the event, the presence of dramatic imagery (such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions), and the number of human casualties.

The study also highlights that social connections to the affected country play a significant role in coverage, often outweighing geographic proximity or language similarities. Notably, the research found that droughts and floods—two critical consequences of climate change—receive significantly less international media attention, which may contribute to the public underestimating the impacts of the greenhouse effect.