Collage of Chase Cain in two different settings.

A RENOWNED meteorologist is opening up about his decision to leave NBC after a decade of reporting.

Reporter Chase Cain said that difficulties with getting climate change stories on air was a factor in his decision.

NBC News National Climate Reporter Chase Cain in a boat on blue water with icebergs in the background.
Veteran NBC meteorologist Chase Cain said constantly fighting NBC execs on climate reporting burned him outCredit: NBC
 
A man, Chase Cain, wearing headphones and a brown jacket, speaks outdoors with trees in the background.He’s now becoming an independent journalist after saying he finds it difficult to be “objective” about the climateCredit: Substack / HEATED
Cain spent nearly eight years at NBC as a climate reporter – but said that he found it increasingly hard to get approval for climate change stories.

“It just really got to that point where I was just kind of exhausted by the sales, by the constant trying to explain and remind, like, hey, this is important. Please run this story,” Cain said in an interview with climate podcast HEATED.

“It just wore on me after a while.”

Cain and host Emily Atkin were joined in conversation by Tracy Wholf, a former producer for ABC and CBS who said she had a similar experience in network TV.

”The networks, I think, are bending the knee to the current political atmosphere,” she said.

A study by Media Matters found that the number of minutes dedicated to climate segments on ABC, CBS, and NBC declined by 35% between 2024 and 2025 alone.

The decline comes as the US faced 23 billion-dollar weather disasters in a year, which Cain said should have fueled even more climate change reporting.

The meteorologist said he was frustrated that stories about extreme weather events didn’t include a climate change angle.

“It kind of reminds me of some of the conversations when there’s a mass shooting. It’s like, now’s not the time to talk about gun reform because there are people mourning,” he said.

“Isn’t that the exact moment to talk about gun reform? Isn’t it the exact moment to talk about climate change when you have a weather event that is amplified by climate change?”

Cain added that he found it difficult to keep his distance from the subject and remain objective.

“For me, it’s really hard to be objective about all life on planet. How can I be objective about the air that I breathe?” he said.

That extended to platforming and catering towards people on the other side of the issue, like oil companies, or climate change deniers.

“We know that oil is making the planet hotter. I don’t need the oil company to lie to me and say that it’s not,” he said.

“[There’s] this perception that the climate deniers in America are this big group. And that if they cover climate too much they’re gonna lose viewers. I would argue exactly the opposite.”

Cain plans to work independently as a journalist.

NBC did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.