Swedish climate reporting criticized as heatwave and El Niño intensify

Four Swedish journalists argue that public broadcaster SVT fails to highlight climate and environmental crises in its news coverage, citing examples such as the network’s reporting on forest fires in France that omitted any mention of climate. They note that SVT has shifted terminology, using vague words like “weather” instead of “climate crisis,” and have classified news items from its main bulletins over three years into categories of clarity.

At the same time, climate researcher Zeke Hausfather warns that the current El Niño could become the strongest on record, with a median sea‑surface temperature anomaly of 3.6 °C—about 0.8 °C above the previous high. He says the unprecedented strength is likely to drive extreme heat across Europe, contributing to dozens of heat‑related deaths and amplifying public panic that is not reflected in mainstream discourse.