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From Our Own Correspondent: Changing views of a changing planet

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30/07/2022 GMT

Changing views of a changing planet

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Changing views of a changing planet

Stories from the frontiers of climate science, Saudi Arabia’s cities, Sri Lanka and Italy

How has a climate science reporter’s job changed over 30 years? Plus: Saudi Arabia’s changing cities, the kitchen gardens feeding Sri Lanka and the glory of an Italian cycle race.

Max Pearson introduces stories of climate change and climate science during the last 35 years – as well as dispatches from Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka’s kitchen gardens and an arduous cycle race in the Italian Alps.

Roger Harrabin has been reporting on the science and the politics of climate change for nearly 35 years -  and since he first heard the phrase 'global warming' back in the late 1980s, the world’s attention has been drawn to the dramatic effects of ‘weird weather’ and the consequences for the planet. Before leaving the BBC, he left us some reflections which take the long view – of how we’re now talking about the problem, and what chance humanity may have to solve it. 

Saudi Arabia is hurtling into the future, hoping to remake its image both abroad and at home. While the cities of Qatif and Jeddah are being extensively (and expensively) remodelled, some artists and other residents have questions about whether priceless heritage is being lost. Sebastian Usher explores how the Kingdom is changing, and the ways some things remain the same.

Sri Lankan families are having to tighten their belts as the economic collapse which has ravaged the country in recent months has ruined household budgets. The government is encouraging people to grow more of their own food to fill the gap, as imports dry up and salaries become stretched. Aanya Wipulasena has turned her hand to creating her own kitchen garden in Colombo, with some success – though carrots are proving an impossible task.  

And as Europe’s summer sporting calendar begins to fill back up again, after two years of Covid lockdowns and isolation measures, Dominic Casciani gets back into his cycling shorts to rejoin the competitors in Italy’s Maratona delle Dolomiti. Its route snakes nearly 140 km through the vertiginous Italian Alps – and it can be a frightening as well as exhausting prospect for the racers. Still, there was delicious food, great camaraderie and sporting history to savour along the way. 

Producer: Polly Hope
Production Co-Ordinator: Gemma Ashman

(Image: Solar farm in India. Credit: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

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