"Being Simple on Complex Issues'' -- An Expert View on Visual Data Communication of Climate Change

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus concerning the threatening impact of climate change, public understanding on the topic seems to lack depth. Data visualizations play a critical role in both communicating scientific evidence about climate change and in stimulating engagement and action. To investigate how visualizations can be better utilized to communicate the complexities of climate change to different audiences, we conducted interviews with 17 experts in the fields of climate change, data visualization, and science communication, as well as with 6 members of the broader citizenry. We use our findings to derive implications and recommendations for creating more effective visualizations, particularly in news media sources geared toward lay audiences. Implications include the establishment of an iterative, user-centered co-design process, the adaption of contents according to the needs of the audience, and the integration of information and formats which users can relate to. We further discuss the role of storytelling, aesthetics, uncertainty representation, and interactive techniques in the visual communication of climate change.