The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, has urged the Met Office to improve how weather forecasts are displayed on popular apps, claiming misleading predictions are costing the charity up to £40,000 a day.
RZSS highlighted that many widely used applications show a rain icon for an entire day, even if wet weather is only anticipated for a brief period in the morning or evening. This, they argue, causes people to rely on a quick glance at their phone and wrongly assume it will be wet all day, deterring them from visiting.
Ben Supple, RZSS deputy chief executive, said: “Many people decide how they will spend their day based on the weather and a quick glance at their phone. Our concern is that many sites display a rain icon for the entire day even if wet weather is only forecast for a short period early in the morning or late at night. Unfortunately, this can create the misleading impression that the whole day will be wet and put people off visiting.”
During school holidays, this can reduce visitor numbers by 2,000 and cost the charity up to £40,000 in a day, which Supple said is enough to feed all their penguins for more than a year. RZSS has joined calls for discussions with the Met Office, government and major weather app developers to explore improvements to how forecasts are presented.
Practical improvements could include splitting weather icons into day and night conditions, adding short summaries such as “showers early followed by brighter weather”, or indicators showing how many hours of dry weather are expected. The campaign is supported by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA).
Tabitha Aldrich-Smith, Met Office associate director for communications and engagement, said: “We are committed to providing accessible forecasts tailored to make the most of the UK weather. Recognising that days out are an integral part of our culture, we aim to support the outdoor industry, from attractions to festivals, as they prepare for the season ahead.”
