EEA and Eurofound online survey across 27 European countries; More than 80% affected by climate-related issues.

EEA and Eurofound online survey across 27 European countries; More than 80% affected by climate-related issues.

Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change

EEA Report XX/2023 EEA report Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change

European Environment Agency Kongens Nytorv 6 1050 Copenhagen K Denmark Tel.: +45 33 36 71 00 Web: eea.europa.eu Enquiries: eea.europa.eu/enquiries Cover design: EEA Cover photo: © Adapted from Adobe Stock Layout: Eworx/EEA Legal notice The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the European Commission or other institutions of the European Union. Neither the European Environment Agency nor any person or company acting on behalf of the Agency is responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this report. Brexit notice EEA products, websites and services may refer to research carried out prior to the UK′s withdrawal from the EU. Research and data relating to the UK will generally be explained by using terminology such as: ′EU-27 and the UK′ or ′EEA-32 and the UK′. Exceptions to this approach will be clarified in the context of their use. Publication policy To protect the environment, the European Environment Agency supports only digital publications. We do not print our publications. Copyright notice © European Environment Agency, 2026; © Eurofound, 2026 This publication is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0). This means that it may be re-used without prior permission, free of charge, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, provided that the EEA is acknowledged as the original source of the material and that the original meaning or message of the content is not distorted. For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Environment Agency, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective rightsholders. More information on the European Union is available on https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2026 ISBN 978-92-9480-755-7 ISSN 1977-8449 doi: 10.2800/6087030 Eurofound Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin D18 KP65 Ireland Tel.: +353 1 2043100 Web: www.eurofound.europa.eu Enquiries: information@eurofound.europa.eu

3 Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change Acknowledgements 5 Key messages 6 Executive summary 7 1 Introduction 9 2 Climate-related impacts perceived by respondents 11 3 Concern about future climate impacts 15 4 Climate resilience measures reported by respondents 17 4.1 Household-level resilience 18 4.2 Resilience actions perceived in respondents′ areas 22 4.3 Differences between urban and rural respondents 25 5 Differences between respondent groups 27 5.1 Household financial means 27 5.2 Age 31 5.3 Gender 34 5.4 Home ownership 36 5.5 Self-reported health status 38 6 Conclusions and opportunities for action 43 6.1 Need for broad implementation of adaptation solutions 43 6.2 Tackling heat as the most widespread risk to health and well-being 44 6.3 Encouraging household-level resilience 44 6.4 Protecting vulnerable groups 44 Abbreviations 46 References 47 Annex 1 Living and Working in the EU e-survey 2025 questions analysed in the report 51 Contents

Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change 4 Acknowledgements The European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) would like to thank the EEA′s partners from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EEA member countries), European Commission′s Directorate General Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, the International Organization for Migration and the European Climate-Health Cluster for their valuable contributions and input.

5 Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change Key messages • This report is based on an online survey of over 27,000 respondents across 27 European countries and presents respondents′ experiences of climate impacts, their concerns about future impacts, and the resilience measures they have taken at home and observed in their neighbourhoods. • More than 80% of survey respondents reported being affected by at least one climate-related issue (heat, flooding, wildfires, water scarcity, wind, mosquito/tick bites) in the last 5 years. Heat was the most commonly reported issue: nearly half of respondents felt too hot in their home, work, or place of education, while over 60% of respondents reported feeling too hot outside in their neighbourhood. • Over 52% of respondents were very or quite concerned about extremely high temperatures in the future and 48% felt very or quite concerned about wildfires. Women, the youngest respondents (16‑29 years old) and respondents from southern and central-eastern Europe are the groups most concerned about future climate impacts. • One in five respondents did not have any of the household measures that were listed in the survey designed to protect against extreme weather (e.g. shading, air conditioning or ventilation, flood proofing, rainwater collection, extreme weather insurance, backup power system, and emergency kit in place). • There are strong regional differences in the climate impacts felt by respondents and the resilience measures reported. Climate impacts were experienced most by respondents in southern and central‑eastern Europe. Regionally, the group with the lowest percentage of respondents reporting both climate impacts and the presence of the authority-led measures listed in the survey were from northern Europe. • Over 38% of all respondents stated that they could not afford to keep their home adequately cool in the summer; the percentage increases to 66% amongst respondents who have experienced financial difficulties. • A higher percentage of less affluent respondents, renters, or those in poor health reported experiencing climate impacts compared to all other respondents. At the same time, fewer respondents from these groups reported adopting household-level climate resilience measures or seeing authority-led measures implemented in their neighbourhood. • Ensuring the well-being and prosperity of European society under the rapidly changing climate requires a broad implementation of measures preventing and preparing for climate impacts, the affordability of household-level resilience measures and the fair distribution of authority-led adaptation actions.

Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change 6 Executive summary Ongoing climate change as a threat to prosperity and well-being in Europe Climate change poses an increasing threat to the health, well-being and prosperity of European society. Climate-related extreme events — such as heatwaves, wildfires, floods or droughts — are becoming more frequent and more intense as global warming progresses. European and national policy frameworks emphasise the urgent need for adaptation to climate change and effective management of climate-related risks to its population and economy. However, there has not been much assessment of the extent to which actions to improve the EU′s resilience to climate change have been implemented, especially in relation to individual households. This report was jointly developed by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and is based on the findings from an online survey. It explores the experiences of climate-related impacts, resilience actions taken at home, the perception of local actions implemented, and concerns about future impacts among a sample of Europeans. Widespread experiences of climate-related impacts and high concerns about the future Four out of five survey respondents reported experiencing at least one of the following climate-related issues in the last five years (2020-2025): uncomfortable heat, floods, wildfires, water scarcity, wind damage or more frequent insect bites. Many respondents also expressed concerns about future climate impacts, with heat and forest fires of high concern for around half of them. The fact that a high percentage of respondents reported experiencing impacts in the past and concerns in the future points towards the need to do more to adapt to climate change. Indications of under-preparedness at the household level in Europe The survey explored climate resilience measures in respondents′ homes. None of the measures to protect against climate impacts listed in the survey were reported as having been put in place by more than half of the respondents. Just over 22% of respondents did not have any of the listed measures at home. Measures against heat — the most frequently reported problem — include shading (reported by 49% of respondents), roof/wall insulation (48%) and air conditioning or ventilation (32%). More than 40% of respondents reported having home insurance covering extreme weather events. A much lower percentage of respondents have prepared an emergency kits (14%) or secured access to a backup power source (8%). For European society to adapt sufficiently, households need to become more resilient through greater awareness of, access to, and increased affordability of at‑home measures.

Executive summary 7 Overheated and underprepared: Europeans′ experiences of living with climate change Non-infrastructural character of local adaptation actions The most frequently reported local measures identified by respondents were warnings or alerts for extreme weather (experienced by 57%), awareness campaigns on risks and actions to take in case of extreme weather (43%) and water use restrictions during dry periods (42%). Overall, 36% of respondents reported that they had noticed tree planting or improvements in access to green spaces in their area. Local flood prevention measures and the provision of cooling centres were not reported as commonly observed. This snapshot of authority-led adaptation measures, based on respondents′ perceptions, suggests the need for more infrastructure-based climate adaptation measures to accompany behaviour‑oriented measures. Unequal impacts and unequal resilience Some of the climate impacts reported by respondents affected certain groups disproportionately. For example, four times as many respondents from households with the lowest financial means had experienced problems with access to safe and clean water (15% compared to 4%). Likewise, twice as many had been affected by wildfires and associated smoke compared to respondents from households with the highest financial means (11% compared to 5%). Two-thirds of those with difficulties making ends meet were unable to keep their home adequately cool in the summer compared to just over 9% of those making ends meet either very easily or easily. The youngest respondents and women emerged as the groups most concerned about future climate impacts. Meanwhile, renters, compared to homeowners, were less likely to have resilience measures in place at home. Finally, across all impacts, respondents with self-assessed poor health reported being more affected by climate impacts while also being less likely to have resilience measures in place at home than compared to respondents with self-assessed good health. In order to ensure social fairness in climate resilience, it is essential to design adaptation strategies that protect all people, especially the most vulnerable groups About the survey The report draws on data collected through the yearly Eurofound Living and Working in the EU e-survey. In 2025, the survey included a set of questions on climat