Young adults are the age group most likely to act on weather warnings, Met Office survey finds
Three in four 18 to 24-year-olds changed what they did because of heat warnings this summer, but only 17% say they are fully ready for severe winter weather.
People aged 18 to 24 pay more attention to weather warnings than any other age group, according to research published by the Met Office on Wednesday.
The survey looked at how people responded to this summer's extreme heat. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 75% said hot weather forecasts, warnings or advice had made them do something differently, and 67% checked the forecast more often than usual during hot spells. Both were the highest figures for any age group.
Since the summer, 44% of young adults say they take weather warnings more seriously. Among people aged 55 and over, the figure was 21%.
Half of the 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed had trouble sleeping in hot weather, 42% struggled to keep their home or workplace cool, 37% said they felt unable to do much and 30% became dehydrated. A third (34%) said the sunshine had made them happy.
Many followed the official advice. Almost half (47%) kept curtains or blinds closed, 39% shut windows to keep rooms cooler and 39% used more suncream than they normally would.
Looking ahead to winter
Some 36% said they were now more likely to prepare for winter weather, against 17% of over-55s, and 38% expect to check forecasts more regularly this winter.
Even so, only 17% of young adults said they felt fully prepared for severe weather in the coming months.
Nearly half (46%) said they were more likely to follow the advice issued alongside warnings in future. In the 45 to 54 age group, only 20% said the same.
The Met Office said social media was the main place young adults got weather information, but that many also used television and weather apps. Its head of warnings and guidance, Holly Clements, said the findings showed young people were paying attention when it mattered, despite often being seen as less engaged with news and public messages.
The Met Office publishes free advice on getting ready for severe weather through its WeatherReady pages, and said the research was encouraging evidence that young adults were willing to act on trusted information as temperatures fall ahead of winter.
