A new study suggests COVID-19 has pushed climate change off the front page. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic fall in social media chatter about climate change, according to research funded by Facebook. 

Looking at Facebook link shares in the US, the researchers saw an 80 per cent drop in climate change content as the virus started to circulate globally in March 2020. 

However, interest in climate briefly rebounded with a period of record-setting wildfires and droughts in the US later that year. 

The researchers say it is important to communicate the interconnectedness of climate change and global shocks like pandemics, to avoid society being continually distracted from taking action on climate change.

The full study is due for publication in the journal PLOS ONE.