Last month, we sent out a survey asking how residents were impacted by recent extreme weather events (heat waves.) We received around 100 responses, here’s what you told us:

  • 40% of participants said they were significantly affected by the heat wave, while another 41% described themselves as somewhat affected. A lot of participants mentioned that the heat had restricted their ability to leave the house for exercise and had impacted their sleep and energy levels.

  • 45% of participants confirmed that the heat wave significantly impacted their awareness of climate change, and 59% of participants agreed that they had experienced anxiety or stress related to climate change. Of those experiencing climate anxiety, 93% indicated that extreme weather events increased their anxiety.

    If you’re experiencing climate anxiety, this article from the Mental Health UK website has some advice for how to manage it.

  • 75% of participants confirmed that they had made changes to their lifestyle to reduce their carbon footprint. Many participants had reduced their car usage, energy usage or meat consumption. Other changes made included the use of water butts, buying locally and wearing second-hand clothing. When we asked participants to tell us what order they would choose to tackle three key areas of carbon generation in their lifestyle, they said they would start with energy consumption, then look at transport, and finally take on diet.

    For advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint, take a look at this article from the Energy Savings Trust website.

The most striking finding from this survey was that 80% of participants felt that their voices were not heard on the topic of climate change. We have passed this straight to the Cabinet because we need to make sure we are listening to residents on this urgent topic.

If you want to tell the Council how you feel about climate change, or share your ideas, you may want to contact your local councillor. To find out who that is, you can use this page on our website.