Meteorologist Has Panic Attack on Air: ‘Happening Right Now’

Mar. 15, 2025

ABC News Australia Nate Byrne/Instagram

An Australian meteorologist stopped his live on-air report because he was having a panic attack, sharing “I’m actually going to need to stop for a second.”

Nate Byrne, who wrote about hispanic attacksin a 2022 article forABC News Australia, has said it’s from “ananxietyproblem I still deal with to this day.”

“We’re going to see lots more rain in the days ahead,” Byrne was saying during the August 13 broadcast of ABC News Breakfast — before clasping his hands together and announcing that he needed to pause his report.

“Lisa, maybe I could hand back to you,” he said, addressing co-host Lisa Millar.

“You certainly can Nate,” she said, and then referenced his past article. “It’s fantastic that he has been so open and transparent about it, and the response when he first wrote about it and spoke about it was that everyone said, ‘Oh thank God, Nate’s not perfect. We thought he was perfect’. ”

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Panic attacks “are sudden, intense feelings of fear that cause physical symptoms like a racing heart, fast breathing and sweating,” theCleveland Clinicexplains.

And as Byrne wrote, “talking about my anxiety and seeking treatment mean that it’s something I can live with and manage."

These days, “this only happens once a year or so for me,” Byrneshared on X, the platform previously know as Twitter.

After his on-airpanic attack, Byrne rejoined the broadcast, saying, “Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare there.”

“Not really, because you’ve been very honest before about getting panic attacks on air,” Millar said. “And it’s so great for people to know that it can happen to anyone.”

“You gave me a scare because I thought I’d have to finish doing the weather report, and I’m no good at that,” co-host Michael Rowland quipped, earning a laugh from Byrne.

The reaction on social media has largely been supportive, with many praising Byrne for being so forthcoming.

“This is so beautiful with such support, acceptance of self, and acceptance of a fellow co-worker,” podcaster Rick Glassman wrote.

And as another commenter wrote, “THIS is how we support our colleagues and normalize mental health 🩵.”

source: people.com