Australia’s weather bureau faces backlash over $96m website redesign

Australia's weather bureau faces backlash over $96m website redesign

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has come under fire after its long-awaited website redesign, launched on 22 October, triggered widespread criticism and revealed a cost of A$96.5 million ($62.3m; £48m)-20 times higher than initially stated. The backlash, fueled by usability complaints and the staggering price tag, has prompted government scrutiny and public outrage.

Launch day chaos amid extreme weather

The redesign went live on an unseasonably hot day in Sydney, with temperatures nearing 39°C (99°F), following New South Wales' hottest day in over a century. Within hours, users flooded social media with complaints under the hashtag #changeitback. Farmers, fishermen, and emergency workers criticized the removal of GPS coordinate functionality, altered rain radar colors, and overall poor navigation.

Some questioned the timing: "Why change it on a day of severe weather?" Others mocked the bureau's subsequent list of tips for using the new site, calling it an admission of failure.

"Terrible! You shouldn't need step-by-step instructions to navigate the site."

Social media user

Cost revelation sparks government rebuke

A week after launch, the bureau's acting head apologized amid concerns that users were underprepared for storms in Queensland due to the site's flaws. The federal government, including Energy Minister Chris Bowen, condemned the redesign, stating the BOM had "lost community confidence."

New BOM chief Dr. Stuart Minchin later acknowledged the changes were "challenging for some" but defended the A$96.5m expenditure, citing cybersecurity upgrades and system overhauls. Critics, like Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, derided the cost:

"We spent $96m to put a B at the end of the BOM site. It's now bomb, it's hopeless."

Barnaby Joyce, Nationals MP

Psychological and cultural fallout

Neuroscientist Joel Pearson attributed the fury to disrupted "procedural memory"-users' muscle memory for interpreting weather data, akin to touch-typing. The redesign's altered radar colors and layouts "scrambled neurological shortcuts" built over years, he told the BBC. Sociologist Ash Watson noted the site's cultural significance in a country prone to extreme weather, where trust in BOM forecasts is critical.

Despite the bureau's claim that pre-launch tests showed 70%+ satisfaction, Pearson called the consultation "perfunctory or misdirected." The BOM later reported 400,000 feedback items-less than 1% of 55 million monthly visits-but conceded users had "formed strong habits."

History of naming and public pushback

This isn't the BOM's first PR crisis. In 2022, a failed rebranding attempt to drop the nickname "BOM" (deemed negative) backfired after Australians rejected the change. Pearson likened it to "correcting a friend's nickname"-a cultural misstep. The current saga, he said, reflects a "similar blindness, but with higher stakes."

What's next

The government has demanded an explanation for the spending, while the BOM has partially restored old features. Further adjustments are expected based on feedback, though the controversy underscores the challenges of modernizing a tool millions rely on daily.