Aussie weather reporter praised for how he handled a panic attack live on TV

An Australian weather reporter has been flooded with praise for the way he handled a panic attack live on air.

ABC News Breakfast weatherman Nate Byrne was in the midst of delivering the morning weather when he calmly shared: "I’m going to need to stop for a second."

"Some of you may know that I occasionally get affected by some panic attacks, and actually that’s happening right now," he continued.

He then handed over to Lisa Millar, who shared a 2022 piece Bryne wrote about his panic attacks.

"Nate wrote a great piece on the ABC online website about this and I reckon we might re-up it, put it on our socials, so you can have a bit of a read because it’s fantastic that he has been so open and transparent about it," Millar told viewers.

"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, but actually he’s now sharing something.'"

Byrne later returned to the show and apologised for taking a break.

"Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare," he said.

The footage has since been shared online, with many praising how the situation was handled, with one writing: "This is so unbelievably professional and compassionate. This actually moved me in the way they dealt with this. Like all humans should when someone is feeling differently. And open understanding and an acceptance for how others feel. Well done."

Another wrote: "Everyone should be able to stand up and say, ‘hey, I need a minute, I’m having a panic attack’ and have their friends, family and colleagues have their back!"

Meanwhile, a third added: "Lisa stepped in seamlessly with compassion and professionalism."

Co-host Michael Rowland later shared the clip on Instagram: “Thank you for all the supportive messages (There have been so many. What a wonderful audience we have!)"

"As a team, we’ll always have your back, Nate. Always," Rowland added.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.