Being a meteorologist looks like a fun job. You get to stand in front of a colorful map, point to storm surges and other visuals, make zany hand gestures, read big numbers and then say "And back to Brian for Sports" or "And back to Susan for more on that crazy cat!"
But everyone knows, deep down, that it's a lot harder than that. That predicting the weather is really challenging. A lot of calculations have to be made with really sophisticated instruments.
The day-to-day predictions are a real battle, but broader, big-picture trends are easier to pin down. After all, these trends draw on already-known weather events to figure out patterns and extrapolate into the future.
And that's why climate change is an indisputable reality. Scientists know the climate is changing because they have observed and measured how the climate is changing. They also know why the climate is changing: man-made greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation and other activities.
So now it's just a matter of really getting that message across. Of getting countries to reckon with the true urgency of the situation and to take bold action.
Right now world leaders are gathered in Paris for COP21 to flesh out how climate change will be dealt with in the years to come.
Maybe a good way to start is by returning to the familiar routines of a weather forecast.
That's what Katy Perry is hoping for in her latest collaboration with UNICEF: to influence the global agenda with a weather forecast that puts climate change in simple but stark terms:
Because it’s always children who are first to suffer from its impact.
Over in East Africa, climate change is helping spread mosquitos and malaria – which already kills 800 children every day."
Climate change is and will continue to affect the world's most vulnerable populations first. The world cannot wait for wealthy countries to hurt from the impact of climate change before action is taken.
It's up to everyone, especially world leaders, to fight this unfairness. Organizations like UNICEF are at the forefront of this movement.
You can go to TAKE ACTION NOW to #FightUnfair with UNICEF and call for help for the world's children.