A YouGov poll conducted for Greenpeace has revealed that the June heatwave in the UK led to widespread sleep deprivation, with two in three people reporting difficulty sleeping during the sweltering nights. Almost half of respondents said they lost at least three hours of sleep each night.
Homes Overheating and Health Impacts
The vast majority of people in the UK (86%) said their homes were too hot during the June heatwave, and a quarter reported that they or someone in their household felt physically unwell as a result. About one in five cancelled plans due to the high temperatures, while a similar proportion had to throw away food that went off or could not be kept cool.
Record-Breaking Temperatures
During the late June heatwave, high monthly temperature records were shattered, with 37.7°C recorded at Lingwood, Norfolk, along with record-breaking overnight minimums of 23.5°C in Wales and 23.2°C in England. The Met Office has warned that a third heatwave of the summer will arrive this week, with parts of southern England likely to see highs of around 32°C on Tuesday and up to 35°C in isolated areas by Friday and Saturday.
Economic and Productivity Costs
The heatwave also hit businesses, with 60% of poll respondents saying their workplaces were too hot and more than a quarter reporting reduced productivity. Nearly one in ten said they worked in conditions they felt were unsafe. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recommended that the government set a maximum temperature for indoor and outdoor working.
Public Support for Polluter Levy
More than half of respondents said their homes needed retrofit upgrades to cope with future heatwaves, but 78% said they would struggle to afford them. Almost half of people supported a levy on highly polluting companies to fund these upgrades, making it the most popular option. Only 5% supported raising personal taxes to fix the UK's inadequate infrastructure.
Expert Warnings
Mel Evans, head of climate at Greenpeace UK, said: “The poll exposes the brutal reality of dragging our feet on climate action in the UK, such as mass sleep deprivation. Heatwaves are now a creeping health, housing and economic emergency that is costing families money they don’t have.” Dr Hans Kluge, WHO's director for Europe, noted that prevention works, as heat-related deaths in Europe in 2023 would have been around 80% higher without existing adaptation measures. Dr Laurence Wainwright at the University of Oxford added that tropical nights, where temperatures don't fall below 20°C, make good sleep all but impossible for most, leading to drops in work performance, increased accidents, lower school test scores, and declining mental health.
Heatwave Mortality
The heatwave will have caused hundreds or thousands of early deaths, but statistical analysis takes time. The UK Health Security Agency previously found that more than 10,000 people died due to summer heatwaves between 2020 and 2024.
The YouGov poll involved 2,135 adults in the UK surveyed between 30 June and 1 July 2026, with figures weighted to be representative of all UK adults.
