Heat, Drought & Wildfires

New polling by YouGov for Friends of the Earth reveals a high level of public support for the introduction of national maximum workplace temperature limits. 79% of people backed this measure amidst a summer of heat extremes in the UK, while just 10% were opposed. 11% said they don’t know.

The poll – carried out at the end of July following successive UK heatwaves – also found that:

• 87% of people think the UK is not adequately prepared for extreme weather events such as heat and drought. This includes 81% of Reform and 84% of Conservative supporters. This suggests a rising sense of unpreparedness, since Climate Barometer asked this question in October 2024.
• A majority (52%) say they’d prefer the government to tackle climate adaptation and efforts to cut carbon emissions simultaneously, compared to prioritising one or the other (reaffirming Climate Barometer findings).
• Nearly half of respondents (49%) say they have become ‘more concerned’ for the welfare of friends and family. Just 1% said they feel ‘less concerned’ and 45% who say they feel ‘no difference’.

New data collected in mid-August by YouGov – as part of a wider European survey on overheating and climate change – reveals Britons views and actions while trying to keep cool amidst the long summer of heat extremes.

On cooling:

• Almost half (46%) said they were ‘not able to cool their home to a comfortable temperature’ during the recent heatwaves.
• Passive cooling approaches are by far the most common ways to keep cool during recent heat – ‘Keeping blinds/curtains/shutters closed’ was most widely reported (78%), followed by ‘opening windows’ (75%) and ‘using electric fans’ (72%). Just 2% said “I have not needed to cool my home”.
• More (41%) felt that issues of overheating can be solved without more widespread adoption of air conditioning, although 36% felt these issues cannot be solved.
• More (36%) felt that the government should prioritise encouraging alternative (passive) methods of keeping
  homes cool (e.g. external shutters, insulation, reflective roofs), than AC (14%) – while a third (32%) felt they should be prioritised equally.

On AC:

• 11% reported having permanent or portable AC installed – while 88% do not. Of those who did have AC (n=219), more than half (53%) have had it for less than two years, while 19% have had it for more than five years – showing how this way of coping with heat is rapidly changing amongst successive heat episodes.
• But amongst those without AC already installed, there were mixed views: 35% said they want it, while 39% said don’t want it.
• The biggest reason for not having AC was the cost of buying and/or installing it (68%), and the cost of electricity to run it (49%).
• If air conditioning became widespread in homes in the UK, around half (47%) felt it would not make much difference either way on people’s dedication to tackling climate change – but 25% were concerned about people becoming less dedicated.

On climate:

• More than two-thirds (69%) were fairly or very concerned about climate change and it’s effects, including 88% of Labour voters, 86% of Green voters and 63% of Conservatives. Reform diverged the most here with a third (33%) saying they were worried.
• More (44%) felt the government ‘Are not doing or spending enough to try and tackle climate change’ than those saying they are spending too much (25%).

In new polling by Ipsos, over half of British adults (56%) report that this year’s extreme heat has disrupted their ability to carry out normal daily activities like working, exercising, or sleeping.

And although people in the UK are trying to adapt their homes to cope with the heat – many have been finding costs to be a major barrier. Ipsos report that the top reason for not planning to make home cooling changes is “lack of affordability” (39%).

3 in 4 (74%) said they were concerned about climate change today following heatwave summer, and concerns about future summers were also clear: 9 in 10 (87%) think it’s likely that Britain will continue to experience similar severe heatwaves into the future.

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’.

Following multiple heatwaves, more than 50% of Britons say they are more fearful for what’s to come in the future, with more than 48% feeling more anxious about climate change. That’s according to polling by Survation for Climate Outreach and Round Our Way.

These views were broadly shared across political divides – 58% of people intending to vote Labour say that the heatwaves have made them feel more anxious about climate change as did 48% of Conservative Voters. Although this fell to around a third for Reform voters (33%).

The research also finds that 51% of people feel that it’s more important for the Government and businesses to tackle climate change, in light of the heatwaves. 61% of Labour’s 2024 voters agreed here, although again this fell to around a third (35%) amongst those who intend to vote for Reform.

This research was covered in New Statesman.