  Data visualizations play a critical role in both communicating scientific
evidence about climate change and in stimulating engagement and action. To
investigate how visualizations can be better utilized to communicate the
complexities of climate change to different audiences, we conducted interviews
with 17 experts in the fields of climate change, data visualization, and
science communication, as well as with 12 laypersons. Besides questions about
climate change communication and various aspects of data visualizations, we
also asked participants to share what they think is the main takeaway message
for two exemplary climate change data visualizations. Through a thematic
analysis, we observe differences regarding the included contents, the length
and abstraction of messages, and the sensemaking process between and among the
participant groups. On average, experts formulated shorter and more abstract
messages, often referring to higher-level conclusions rather than specific
details. We use our findings to reflect on design decisions for creating more
effective visualizations, particularly in news media sources geared toward lay
audiences. We hereby discuss the adaption of contents according to the needs of
the audience, the trade-off between simplification and accuracy, as well as
techniques to make a visualization attractive.
