The federal government is now making the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) fix its new $4.1 million website redesign after a storm of hate from Australians, including farmers who found it difficult to use.
ICYMI: Last Wednesday, the Bureau launched its first major website overhaul in 12 years, describing it as a “modern and sleek” redesign aimed at making weather updates clearer and easier to access.
BOM Acting CEO Dr Peter Stone said the new site was developed with community consultation and aims to make it easier for Australians to access daily updates and warnings, which are viewed more than 2.6 billion times each year.
But for many users, the forecast was far from sunny.
Frustrated Aussies were quick to share their dismay over the new layout on Facebook and Reddit.
“I thought I was going crazy! The new layout sucks,” one user wrote.
“The rain radar is rooted. Just a Temu version of what it once was – all the quality and definition are simply missing,” another said.
“The new website is useless. Tried checking for storm forecasts yesterday and can’t find anything. Can’t even find the radar maps — totally useless,” a Facebook commenter said.
Some were so unimpressed they began circulating links to the old version of the site.
Speaking to the ABC, northeast Victorian farmer Stuart Barber said the update made it harder to find crucial weather observations.
“With the weather fronts coming through, it’s really important for us to be able to manage the animals’ welfare and health,” Barber said.
A few users did find the update useful, with one Reddit user saying, “It’s easier to get to the stuff I actually use – daily and hourly forecasts – and it has https.”
Senior Bureau meteorologist Angus Hines responded to the criticism, telling ABC Radio that while the redesign “might take some getting used to”, all the important information remains.
“It looks a bit different, it plays a bit different, but all the important information is still there, you might just have to find it in a slightly different way,” Hines said.
“We know people are very passionate about the weather,” the BOM’s senior meteorologist, Andrea Peace said.
Now, Energy Minister Chris Bowen has admitted on ABC Radio National Breakfast that the changes were not it.
“The bureau clearly has work to do in that it has lost community confidence in the new website,” Mr Bowen said.
Environment Minister Murray Watt addressed the backlash to BOM acting chief executive Peter Stone, saying the site was “not meeting many users’ expectations”.
“I made clear my expectations that the BOM needed to consider this feedback and, where appropriate, adjust the website’s settings as soon as possible,” Mr Watt said in a statement.
“This includes urgent consideration of improvements to the website’s functionality and usability.”
In a statement issued today, Dr Stone apologised for any inconvenience caused by the update.
“It’s clear we need to do more to help people through the change, both by making adjustments to the website and by helping users to understand its new features,” Dr Stone said.
He said the safety of Australians was the BOM’s primary concern.
“We want to reiterate that observations, forecasts, warnings and severe weather updates continue to be readily available on our website, the app and our social media channels,” Dr Stone said.
The bureau’s been asked to brief state and territory emergency services ministers this week on the new website and what’s being done to improve it.
“Australians deserve to have confidence in these important services,” Mr Watt said.
“My office and I will continue to engage closely with the BOM and ensure public safety is its foremost priority.”
All this to say the BOM hasn’t learnt its lesson from 2022 when it tried to rebrand and get people to call it “the Bureau” instead of the BOM.
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