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England and Wales have provisionally recorded their driest July in nearly 200 years, Met Office says. This comes as most of England, and all of Wales declared drought – following four successive summer heatwaves.
New research by Climate Outreach shows that support for adaptation action significantly increases when people are shown tangible solutions, such as heatproofing our homes and restoring natural flood defences.
The study – a survey of 7,000 people across Britain and in-depth focus groups across the UK – found that:
This echoes findings from Climate Barometer’s tracker 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.
A new piece by Local Storytelling Exchange brings together people’s experiences of extreme weather: from tree planting to preventing waterlogged cricket pitches, to shading schools from the rising heat. Amidst “The new normal”, Exchange are sharing stories and multimedia content to highlight how people in Britain are already adapting to extreme weather, including heatwaves, drought and floods – and spotlighting that they can’t do it alone. Here are a couple of quotes from contributors:
“It’s really challenging when you have relatively small classrooms with up to 30 children and multiple adults. When it’s over 30 degrees in the summer, it’s suffocating.”–Rona Mackie, head teacher at Guildford Grove Primary School
“Houses in Scotland are built to retain heat, which is great in the winter, but it’s problematic if you’re getting temperatures of 30 degrees and your flat is sitting at 27 or 28 degrees for a few days on end. The consequences of that could be massive ” – Dani Waddell, manager of Crossroads Youth and Community Association
New survey data shows that nearly three quarters (71%) believe the government should make adapting to climate risks like floods, heat, and droughts an “urgent, top priority”, while only a minority (15%) disagreed.
The findings, from a nationally representative UK survey in collaboration with Flooded People, highlight the public desire for action on impacts like floods, storms, heat and drought.
While experts in the climate sector separate out ‘adaptation’ and ‘mitigation’, our new data shows that a majority (55%) think these two broad responses should be prioritised equally (echoing our previous tracker insights).
The survey also showed that most people report one or more direct experience of climate impacts. Heatwaves and extreme heat are the most commonly experienced climate impact (felt by 46%). A third have experienced ‘severe storms’ (30%), and a fifth say they have been directly affected either by flooding or poor air quality (both 21%). It’s less than a third (29%) who still say they have “no experience of impacts” at all.
Following months of sweltering heatwaves, record-breaking wildfires and five regions in drought, this week it was provisionally confirmed that 2025 was the UK’s hottest summer on record.
While this new record was made ‘70 times’ more likely by climate change, the overwhelming sentiment is that the country is not prepared for more summers like this. The UK’s official climate advisors, practitioners who work on the frontline of the heatwave response, and the British public all agree that the UK isn’t ready for more extreme weather,worsening heat, and compounding risks like water scarcity and wildfires.
At the same time, there are important perception gaps to address. Despite the alarming statistics about heat-related deaths in the UK, many people were looking forward to the first heatwaves this summer. Lots think that heatwaves will only become a problem for the UK in the future. And many believe that hot weather poses more of a risk to other people, not themselves.
In this context there are important conversations now happening about how to grapple with the growing climate risks in the UK, including the sudden lurch towards air conditioning (despite its potential to make heat risks worse).
For more on the key issues surrounding heat communication, check out our recent opinion piece in Climate Home News.
As the UK’s third summer heatwave drew to a close, Ed Miliband used his first annual climate statement to Parliament to warn of the growing impacts of climate breakdown in the UK, backed by the Met Office’s latest State of the UK Climate report.
The report shows how extreme weather is now the norm in the UK, with data from hundreds of weather stations revealing that the hottest days are becoming more frequent and severe, and intense rainfall has increased.
In the face of rising climate impacts, UK-based researchers are calling for more measures that simultaneously tackle the root causes of climate change, while enabling society to adapt.
Efforts to tackle climate change have tended to prioritise mitigation (reducing emissions) over adaptation efforts (reducing vulnerabilities), and these two broad types of measures are often split across government departments, such as Defra and DESNZ in the UK.
But new research, using the UK’s record-breaking 40C heatwave in 2022 as a case study, has found clear demands for national and local governments to roll out measures that combine mitigation and adaptation.
Policy-makers, climate organisations, and those working in emergency response felt that approaches – such as creating climate-resilient neighbourhoods, tree-planting and other nature-based solutions – should be a priority, given their dual benefits. They felt efforts to combine emissions reductions and adaptation have challenges, but were feasible, with better coordination.
The new analysis also suggests that framing these efforts as part of working towards a ‘climate resilient net zero’ can be a useful way of engaging a range of relevant audiences and decision-makers – building on existing support for net zero.
The study findings are supported by Climate Barometer tracker insights, which shows that both the public and MPs feel mitigation and adaptation are equally important. It also echoes previous work which found that the public view mitigation and adaptation as “two sides of the same coin”.
Commentary & Analysis
28th November 2023
People increasingly understand climate change as happening in the ‘here and now’. But there is a long way to go before the severity of climate risks is fully appreciated, and people are fully supported in preparing for and adapting to impacts.
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.
Reviewing research on climate adaptation behaviours, a report prepared by the CAST centre for the Climate Change Committee concluded that most people know very little about how they can prepare for changes such as extreme heat, droughts, or flooding. The authors highlight that it is important for politicians to clearly communicate what types of behaviours are most effective in preparing for a changing climate, and provide advice tailored to the type of risk, alongside other measures like financial incentives for homeowners.
June-August 2023 was the “warmest on record globally by a large margin, with an average temperature of 16.77°C, 0.66°C above average.” In addition “August 2023 was the warmest August on record globally, and warmer than all other months except July 2023”.
The public want urgent action on floods, heat, and droughts