Using virtual simulations of future extreme weather events to communicate climate change risk

• Main Authors: GEVELT, Terry Van, MCADOO, Brian G., YANG, Jie, LI, Linlin, WILLIAMSON, Fiona, SCOLLAY, Alex, LAM, Aileen, CHAN, Kwan Nok, SWITZER, Adam D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Physical and Environmental Geography
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/151; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/cis_research/article/1150/viewcontent/journal.pclm.0000112.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Virtual simulations of future extreme weather events may prove an effective vehicle for climate change risk communication. To test this, we created a 3D virtual simulation of a future tropical cyclone amplified by climate change. Using an experimental framework, we isolated the effect of our simulation on risk perceptions and individual mitigation behaviour for a representative sample (n = 1507) of the general public in Hong Kong. We find that exposure to our simulation is systematically associated with a relatively small decrease in risk perceptions and individual mitigation behaviour. We suggest that this is likely due to climate change scepticism, motivation crowding, geographical and temporal distance, high-risk thresholds, feelings of hopelessness, and concerns surrounding the immersiveness of the virtual simulation.