KSHB meteorologist Gary Lezak posts comment saying climate change isn’t an emergency
Local weather forecaster Gary Lezak stirred discussion on social media Tuesday with a comment about the climate crisis.
“I think there are benefits to a warmer climate, more than if the Earth were turning colder. I do not believe there is any emergency. It’s a very long term gradual process,” Lezak, the chief meteorologist for Kansas City’s NBC affiliate station KSHB 41, wrote on Twitter earlier this week in response to a question about climate change.
Many people on Twitter expressed disappointment at the statement, noting that the climate crisis has direct impacts on the local weather events Lezak covers in depth.
“So much about this is wrong, backwards, and downright dangerous. Very disappointed to hear this from you,” said one commenter. Others expressed similar concerns.
He issued a clarifying statement on Tuesday, April 12. “I want to thank all the folks who responded to my response on Twitter to a climate question. Thought it would be good to provide some clarification. I do take climate change VERY seriously. Climate change is, without question, a serious problem,” he wrote.
Here’s a closer look at why Lezak’s statement struck a nerve, and what climate experts say on the issue.
Is climate reporting a weather forecaster’s job?
Lezak’s controversial comment is part of a larger conversation around whether meteorologists, who typically focus on daily and weekly weather events, have a responsibility to connect broader weather patterns to global warming.
As extreme weather events worsen around the globe, many forecasters are shouldering this new responsibility. KSHB itself even wrote a piece in December linking recent extreme weather events to the climate crisis. Lezak was not involved in the article.
Multiple commenters online likened Lezak’s statement to Kansas state legislator Mike Thompson, a Republican from Shawnee who formerly worked as a meteorologist for Fox4 News. Thompson has pushed for restrictions on the state’s renewable energy industry and has a history of claiming that global warming is not a serious threat being caused by human activity.
How serious of a threat is climate change to Kansas City?
Scientific consensus points to climate change posing a serious threat to human life on Earth. While Kansas City is unlikely to be impacted by certain threats, such as rising sea levels, it is already feeling the burdens of a warming planet caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that current actions by world governments and corporations to curb global warming are insufficient to avoid serious consequences like extreme weather events.
Lezak’s comment was especially notable due to his own innovations in long-term weather modeling. His Lezak Recurring Cycle (LRC) model is used by meteorologists around the country to predict weather events up to a year in advance using predictable annual patterns.
Lezak’s recent comment was made during a discussion of LRC predictions over decades, leading him to note that “right now there are strong signs the Earth is warming.”
What can I do to help combat the climate crisis in Kansas City?
Officials are accepting public comments on their draft of the Climate Protection and Resiliency Plan, a citywide initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. Tuesday, April 12 is the last day to submit comments on the current draft before the plan is finalized by the Climate Protection Steering Committee.
Comments can be submitted in two ways. If you are comfortable giving feedback publicly for all to read, you can submit your comments online through this page. If you prefer to make suggestions privately, you can send them to OEQ@kcmo.org or call 816-513-3459.
A recent community event hosted by Kansas City’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led environmental organization, formulated 35 policy proposals for the final version of the plan. The group aims to center low-income communities and communities of color in the city’s mission towards climate resilience. It offered no official comment on Lezak’s statement.
“We aren’t in the business of debating climate deniers,” spokesperson Raymond Forstater told The Star.
Do you have more questions about climate action in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 3:48 PM.
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