Topics: Health, Impacts and adaptation
Type: Discussion papers
Publication date: January 2025
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Summary
Authors: Dr Neil Jennings, Dr Pauline Paterson, Dr Clair Barnes, Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh and Dr Candice Howarth.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment report concluded that the frequency and intensity of heatwaves and extreme heat has increased globally as a result of climate change. Such extremes of temperature negatively affect people’s physical and mental health. These slides summarise findings from a nationally representative sample (on the basis of age, gender and ethnicity) of 897 people who were asked to share their experience of heatwaves and very hot weather in the UK. The survey was conducted via the platform Prolific.com between 2-4 October 2024.
Headlines
- People are concerned about extreme heat and a considerable proportion believe that the Government’s adaptation plans don’t go far enough: 35% of respondents are very or extremely concerned about heatwaves and hot weather in the UK. Five times as many people think the Government’s adaptation plans are insufficient compared to those who think it goes too far.
- The impacts of climate change are already negatively affecting people’s health in the UK and increasing the pressure on the NHS: People with physical and mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to the negative health impacts of extreme heat. A half of the UK public struggle to sleep during hot weather and a fifth have experienced negative health impacts due to heatwaves in the last 5 years.
- Exposure to extreme heat affects the productivity of the UK workforce: The productivity of two-in-five people has been negatively affected by hot weather as they struggle to work due to the heat.
- While the public is concerned about very hot weather, they may be underestimating the risk of experiencing negative health impacts caused by such weather in the future: Only 15% of respondents perceive it to be very/extremely likely that their health will be affected by very hot weather in the next 5 years, compared to 20% who report that their health was negatively affected in the previous 5 years.
Key recommendations
As the government looks to deliver on its missions to support the NHS and promote growth, greater attention should be paid to climate adaptation to minimise the negative health and productivity impacts of extreme heat. Government action to boost resilience to extreme heat and futureproof UK communities and businesses should include:
- Increased ambition on measures to adapt the built environment to a warming climate, to reduce the risk of homes and workplaces overheating. This applies to standards for new buildings as well as the existing housing stock, alongside greater emphasis on green and blue infrastructure to help mitigate the urban heat island effect.
- Efforts to increase awareness amongst the public of the risks posed by extreme heat and the actions they can take to reduce their exposure.
- Targeted support towards those with pre-existing physical and mental health conditions before, during and after periods of extreme heat.
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