‘Can you confirm there will still BE weather?’ Met Office mocked after announcing they will only post daily forecasts and warnings during period of national mourning as a mark of respect to the late Queen
- The Met Office announced it would limit social media posts ‘out of respect’
- But this led to backlash as people questioned how the weather is disrespectful
- The forecaster was forced to clarify and says it will continue to give information
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
The Met Office has been mocked by social media users today for announcing a partial halt to social media posts out of respect for the royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The weather forecaster told its followers it would ‘only be posting daily forecasts and warnings’ as ‘a mark of respect.’
But users were quick to question why sharing more detailed weather forecasts could be seen as ‘disrespectful’ when it is a vital public service.
The forecaster tweeted: ‘We are saddened by the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
‘Our thoughts are with her family and all those affected by this news.
‘As a mark of respect during this time of national mourning we will only be posting daily forecasts and warnings.’
Followers quickly branded the decision ‘nonsense’ and ‘nuts’, while others quipped that cancelling the weather would have been ‘just what she wanted.’
Former BBC broadcaster Jon Sopel also waded in on the row, writing: ‘I am totally bewildered. Why is it a mark of respect to give us the weather forecast for today, but not tomorrow?
‘Or to put it another way, why is it disrespectful to give us tomorrow’s weather?’
But the Met Office said people had misunderstood its intentions.
Forecasts will still be shared by the Met Office’s social media accounts despite the confusion
One social media user suggested the Met Office should make sure there is no sunshine during the 10 days of national mourning
One Twitter user asked the Met Office: ‘Can you confirm though that there will still be weather?’
Others suggested the Met Office should stop any sun or warm weather from appearing during the 10 days of national mourning.
Meanwhile some raised serious concerns that as storms have been forecast this week, limiting social media output could be damaging.
There was also worries that those wishing to travel and pay tribute to the royal family or see the new King Charles III could struggle to find correct and up-to-date information.
The Met Office later clarified its initial tweet: ‘The use of the word ‘daily’ in our earlier Tweet may have given the false impression that we’ll only be posting once a day.
‘It was always our intention to continue to provide forecasts and warnings for the days ahead, through Twitter, multiple times a day.
‘It is right at this sad time to pause other non-operational content that isn’t a forecast or warning, to ensure the public can focus on any potential impactful weather during this period.’
The death of Queen Elizabeth II was announced at 6.30pm last night, and the throne passed to King Charles III.
He and Queen Consort Camilla returned to London today before Charles met with Prime Minister Liz Truss for the first time as King.
Crowds braved heavy rain at points earlier today to wait for the King’s arrival at Buckingham Palace and share tributes to the late Queen and her family.
King Charles is expected to address the nation later this evening.
A Met Office spokesperson said: ‘In line with the national period of mourning the Met Office has temporarily suspended all non-operational communications. Instead, we are focusing purely on forecast information and weather warnings.
‘It is unfortunate there has been confusion from the use of the word ‘daily’, but it appears many may have received the false impression that we’ll only be communicating once a day, or one day at a time.
‘That wasn’t our aim. In fact, it was always our intention to provide forecasts and warnings for the days ahead, which we will continue to post multiple times per day on Twitter.
‘Clearly the weather forecast is vital to all of those in the UK who will base important decisions upon it; be those times of joy or national sadness.
‘Being an organisation with a rich amount of content we often post items on topics related to the weather, such as statistics on extreme weather and other interesting content about topics the Met Office is involved with.
‘We are pausing this other content temporarily, so the public can focus on any potential impactful weather during the national mourning period.’
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