BBC Breakfast presenter Carol Kirkwood has opened up about the challenges weather forecasters face after unveiling a new partnership.
The TVstar penned a lengthy piece for the BBC about why weather forecasters can appear to get predictions wrong often, explaining the challenges of forecasting and how it has changed in the modern age.
During Wednesday's (6 August) episode of BBC Breakfast, Carol also spoke about the article, which occurred shortly after the BBC unveiled its new partnership with the Met Office in a bid to improve weather forecasting.
"I have been looking at the changes in the weather throughout my career, how much more accurate it is now. Yet, sometimes, it's still perceived to be wrong. Occasionally it is wrong, but we're much more accurate now than we ever were before," Carol said on the BBC programme.
She added: "And, of course, with the new partnership with the Met Office, that means we're going to have expertise of two large organisations."
BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay then responded by pointing out how technology and new data has made people "expect" weather forecasts to be "perfect" everytime but they can't be.
"That's right, because meteorology isn't an exact science anyway. We have such access to weather apps, data online, television and radio, sometimes they differ," Carol added.
She encouraged TV viewers to read the article she penned for the BBC, in which she explained in detail all of the issues with ensuring weather reports are accurate.
In the piece, Carol explained that expectations have created a challenge, which have "risen in our world of round-the-clock access to information".
"Another part of the challenge is how that wealth of information is boiled down and communicated," she wrote. "Meteorology produces an overwhelming amount of data; it's difficult to condense it into a snappy, TV or digital app-friendly prediction.
"It means that even when we are technically correct, some viewers might still end up confused."
She added: "But the answer also lies in the tricky nature of meteorology. It's a delicate science, and any tiny inaccuracy in the data can skew things - or knock it out of shape."
Last week, the BBC revealed its new partnership with the Met Office, eight years after the two organisations ended their relationship. MeteoGroup has been providing BBC's forecasts since 2018.
The deal aims to combine the BBC's and the Met Office's expertise, in a bird to "turn science into stories", according to BBC's director-general Tim Davie.
