To date analyses of media climate change constructions have mostly focused on coverage in
western newspapers. Consideration of coverage in developing countries, and analyses of media
constructions alongside local understandings of climate change are comparatively rare. This
article provides an analysis of the construction of climate change on Nepalese radio and lay
constructions of environment and climate change within the country. Data from a radio
programme and six focus groups are analysed. Analysis of the radio programme indicated
that climate change was portrayed as a certain reality with national impacts caused by the
actions of the West. While climate change dominated the radio headlines, in focus groups
local environmental problems received far more attention. The paper aims to both inform
directions for future climate change communication in Nepal and the wider research agenda.