Climate Impacts

Report: How people of colour are experiencing climate extremes in Britain

05 October 2023

A new report explores the personal experiences of climate change by people of colour in the UK.

Charles Ogunbode and colleagues report that awareness (and reported experience) of climate change is high: 92% of British people of colour believe that climate change is happening, 61% report experiencing impacts of climate change, and 85% are really worried about the impact of climate change in places other than the UK.

The impacts of climate change experienced by British people of colour in the UK include heat waves (over 60%), severe snow disruptions (25%) and flooding in their local area (20%).

Beyond self-reported experiences of extreme weather, some disproportionate effects of climate change are harder to document – the report notes that London’s Black African and Caribbean population are the most exposed to air pollution, which causes approximately 40,000 deaths per year in the UK, and contributes to many adverse health conditions.

Reference article:

Authors: Charles Ogunbode, Nick Anim, Jeremy Kidwell, Amiera Sawas, Serayna Solanki

Spotlight: How people of colour experience & engage with climate change in Britain

Sign up now for a regular, short, digestible email summary of what you need to know in the world of climate opinion.

The latest from the Climate Impacts timeline:

Commentary & Analysis 27th August 2026

No more polling in a vacuum: how opinion data can support people working on the frontline of climate change

Our Researcher Luisa Melloh explores how our recent partnership with Flooded People UK supported community organisations in engaging people on climate, flooding, and impacts more broadly.

Read the full piece No more polling in a vacuum: how opinion data can support people working on the frontline of climate change

Commentary & Analysis 13th August 2026

As climate impacts intensify, who should pay for the costs?

A substantial majority endorse the idea that the biggest polluters and risk creators should contribute more to the costs of climate impacts.

Read the full piece As climate impacts intensify, who should pay for the costs?

Opinion Insight 3rd August 2026

How do the public engage with climate ‘adaptation’ in 2026?

A new research output by Climate Outreach shows that support for adaptation action significantly increases when people are shown tangible solutions, such as heat-proofing our homes and restoring natural flood defences.

The piece – based on a survey of 7,000 people across Britain (carried out in 2025) and in-depth focus groups across the UK (done in 2026) found that:

Three-quarters of people (75%) believe the government needs to take climate change “seriously” – this means a focus preparing for the worst impacts of climate change, for instance, by making our homes more suited for the heat, and building better flood defences.
Most people give equal support for actions that count as adaptation and mitigation. A majority recognises that both adapting to intensifying climate impacts and lowering our future carbon emissions are of equal importance.
The terms ‘climate adaptation’ and ‘climate resilience’ aren’t widely understood. Only half of people know what ‘climate adaptation’ means, whilst less than half know what ‘climate resilience’ is.
The way climate adaptation is framed makes a huge difference to how much people support it. The more we explain what adaptation actions are and why we are doing them, the more people support the action.

The findings echo Climate Barometer tracker data which shows that adaptation and mitigation are supported equally, as well as past research by Climate Outreach/Cardiff University showing that the public see these broad responses as ‘two sides of the same coin’.

Source: Climate Outreach
Author: Climate Outreach
Date: 14th July 2026

New research: most people in the UK support both adaptation and mitigation to improve and protect lives

View Climate Impacts timeline now