Perspective
The old graphics were considered dull and flat by the audience so this is why a 3D globe is central to the new look. 3D has been used in our forecasts since 2000, but the new system makes much more use of it, and enables us to give viewers much more detail of conditions in their area.

The view of the whole UK that we introduced initially was chosen to show the horizon without omitting any land areas, and had the advantage of clearly showing the transition from day to night, for example.

After receiving feedback from viewers we changed the 'tilt' of the map, and have recently made changes to the 'tours' of the UK to take viewers further north over Scotland to address concerns about perspective.

The forecast works its way around the entire country, and for the first time the new system enables us to give viewers a detailed close up of the weather in their area. Our various national and regional forecasts will also continue to provide detailed analysis of the weather in local areas.

Wind Speed and Direction
When the wind is the main story, forecasts will and have been using arrows to indicate its direction and speed. For the majority of the audience showing precise daily wind speeds and direction is not necessarily helpful.

Our research showed that people were often confused by the amount of information within a forecast - we therefore aim to keep the information relevant and useful. However, for those that do require more detailed information our website gives this with our popular five day forecasts.

Weather "Tours"
The new system enables us to take viewers on 'tours' of the nations and regions. We are able to go in much closer than with the old system and show the movement of weather across more localised areas, so giving more detail to the viewer.

The speed of the 'tours' has been reduced after reviewing feedback that we have received from our audience. We believe they offer a more informative and clearer picture of the weather conditions.

Colours and Details used in Forecast
The aim of the new system is to make the weather as clear and as easy to understand as possible. That means making the details (cloud, rain, sunshine etc.), as prominent as possible and stripping away other information which detracts from the weather forecast. So we've kept the elevation of the maps (mountains etc.) but we've taken away variations in colour which come from using standard satellite photography. Regardless of the nature of the land mass the weather is clearer and easier to understand.

We chose a sandy shade for the land mass because it is a neutral colour which emphasises the weather and reacts well to cloud and sunshine, particularly the contrast between the two. It also reflects the 'natural sunlight' we are using in the system, so when it is sunny, the land warms up and highlights the good weather.

We decided to use a plain background for the maps and chose a colour that best enables us to show the weather details over it. Places are shown by dots, and identified by name, as before. Temperatures are more accurate on the new system and are now consistent with our online sites.

Difficulty Relating Temperatures to Places/Areas
The temperature values shown are tied to the locations indicated on the maps. On the old system, temperature discs covered large areas of the country, and were therefore more imprecise.

Inaccuracy/Inconsistency between TV and Online Forecasts
A key feature of the new system is that details across all of our output will be consistent. We are now able to edit the data received from the Met Office, with whom we have worked very closely throughout. The information supplied is stored in one location that then serves all aspects of the television and online content, therefore allowing us to deliver accurate and timely information to our audience.

Trials/Research Prior to Launch of New Graphics
The BBC conducted wide-ranging research in order to identify any need for the weather to be presented in a clearer way. This was carried out in a number of centres across the UK in order to ensure balance and to cover regional requirements. In each centre there was a mix of people who used News and Weather in different ways. Every effort was made to ensure balance and therefore represent as fully as possible the views of our audience. We believe that this consultation has allowed us to develop and deliver clearer weather for everyone.

National Weather Forecast after Six o'clock News has Disappeared
The Six O'Clock News now shows a full national forecast at approximately 1825. The Nations and Regions then show the localised forecasts between 1830 and 1900. This enables the viewer to watch a less broken up News hour with a weather summary placed in a better position.

Black And White Televisions
Since the advent of colour television, colour has been a central ingredient of television weather forecasts - conveying temperatures and changes, for example. The old system used colours in a very similar way. The new system enables us to provide greater detail - so should be no worse than the old on black and white TVs, though we will of course continue to monitor this.

Specialist Users
General television forecasts have never been intended for people whose lives and/or livelihoods depend on the weather for professional reasons. There are specialist forecasts available for these people from The Met Office. However, we are actually providing more timely and accurate data than previously. We have developed a system than ensures far greater consistency of data - so we feel the service for everyone should be better and more reliable.

Health Concerns
We have carried out tests to see how the new system works for people with visual impairments, for example those with colour blindness. A huge amount of research was done into the issue and considerable thought was put into the design and the combination of colours.

Our forecasts are also provided in different ways to ensure that those people who may have a particular difficulty can get the same information in a different format - for example temperatures are shown as numbers on a coloured disc or as coloured gradients on a map.

BBC Weather Website - bbc.co.uk/weather
The most important improvement to the website is that the five day forecasts are now always consistent with those on television (and in fact across all platforms). Previously, the forecast could be updated for television throughout the day, but only twice a day for the website. Now our Forecasters can edit the data 24 hours a day to ensure it is as accurate as possible.

We have also increased the size of our weather maps, and added in a number of new weather charts, such as satellite images for around the world.

Cost of New Graphics
The cost of the new graphics is not something we will go in to, but running costs for the new system are lower than for the current one. The new graphics are also easier and quicker for the weather team to use, making the whole service more efficient and freeing up the forecasters to take part in more live forecasts for BBC News 24 and update the weather website (one of the most popular sites on bbc.co.uk) more frequently. They will also be available for more forecasts where appropriate.

Feedback
As always, we welcome feedback from viewers and users of our forecasts and will continue to monitor this carefully.