TV weather forecasts should include regular climate change segment says former BBC presenter Bill Giles

• Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness make their Top Gear debut in first look at new line-up
• Should All Star Musicals get a full series? Viewers deliver their verdict on ITV's new talent show
• Listen to the RadioTimes.com Podcast now: subscribe on iTunes /subscribe on Google Podcasts

Writing in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, Giles said: “I am calling on the BBC and the other major broadcasters to incorporate an additional five- to ten-minute slot into the forecast that focuses properly and honestly on the Earth’s changing climate.

"This climate change slot should air at least once a week and would use our technical ability to show weather everywhere in the world to explain in clear, 'non-jargony' or technical terms the reasons why our climate is changing – largely due to human influences – and the effects of this on us and all other animals.”

Giles added that “understanding and explaining climate change is one of the most important things facing humanity today” and said that his proposed new segments should discuss the possible impact of climate change around the world, including on animal migrations and "the increase in intensity of Atlantic hurricanes".

Giles first presented the weather on BBC TV in 1975 and was a familiar face on screen throughout the 80s and 90s. He is a former head of BBC weather presenters and led the Met Office Broadcast Meteorologists team for 17 years until his retirement in 2000.

Read Bill Giles's full opinion piece in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, which also previews the best spring dramas including Line of Duty