Young people enjoying sunshine on a day the Met Office declared the 20th-century climate 'gone' said they would feel more inspired to act on climate change if everyone else did. 'You don't want to be the only person doing it and feel like an outsider,' said 19-year-old Evie Jones, who works at Surfside cafe at Rotherslade beach. She described the recent heat as dry and intense, adding, 'We are not prepared for it.'
Young voices on climate anxiety
Joe Pallett, 17, said he sometimes watches news reports about climate change and thinks, 'Oh my God, that's bad.' He added: 'But then you think there's nothing I can do. It (climate change) does feel like it's inevitable. I know that's a bad mindset.' Asked if he would be more on board if everyone took action, he replied, '100%.'
Amy Williams, 17, said: 'I just think we should all start doing something before it (climate change) goes too far, but I don't think people know what to do. Personally I do think about it – it's scary but I don't think people take it too seriously because they don't think it will happen but obviously it will soon.'
Josh Cole, 20, said climate change was 'very real, very true' and 'happening at a rapid rate.' He felt it had dropped off the news agenda and noted that individual actions could add up: 'If one million people did those things that's going to make a difference.'
Call for systemic change
Ffion Lewis, 18, said change must come from fossil fuel companies. 'If they don't, then the change won't be as impactful,' she said. She admitted feeling a bit powerless at times. 'Everyone has to come together. I know there have been small global movements – there needs to be a bigger one.'
Her friend Tess Tudgemeaden, 18, added: 'Then it (taking action) would be the new normal. That's what we've got to create. I think people now have got the mindset of: "Why do I have to do something if my neighbour doesn't do it?"'
Both work part-time in hospitality and said their shifts have been hot despite fans. Ffion sympathised with people in high-rise blocks without air conditioning: 'We're fortunate, we've got a garden so I can go and relax in it.'
Jay Pengelly, 18, noted the uptake in hybrid and electric cars, feeling people are starting to care. 'It (climate change) is a worry, in a sense. As I grow older I think I will start seeing it more.'
Climate education in Wales
In the new Curriculum for Wales, climate teaching is mandatory up to year 9. 'It is taught across many areas of learning and experience, rather than in a single narrow subject area, throughout their education,' said a Welsh Government spokeswoman. In year 10 and 11, specific learning depends on pupils' choices.
Unprecedented warming
Global greenhouse gas emissions combined with deforestation and other land use changes have been warming the planet for decades. The Met Office said the last four years in the UK have all been in the top five warmest years on record. The UK was 1.33C warmer between 2016 and 2025 compared to 1961-1990, according to its latest State of the Climate report. Two-thirds of the approximate 20cm of sea level rise since 1901 in the UK has happened over the last 30 years.
Mike Kendon, Met Office climate information scientist, said: 'Think of this warming as moving north and uphill, with areas like the Vale of York and Lancashire now having similar annual temperatures to those experienced by Greater London in 1961-1990. In the south-east we are seeing the emergence of new warmer climates, while in our northern upland areas we are losing the climatologically coldest habitats from the tops of our mountains. Our climate is on the move – literally.'
He added: 'We are right now living in a time of historic and unprecedented change and in terms of temperature, on annual, seasonal, monthly and daily timescales, this evidence shows the climate of the 20th Century has now gone.'
The national grid and parts of the health service are already reporting demand previously unthinkable in summer as vulnerable people suffer in the heat and fans and air conditioning units are switched on. Natural Resources Wales said the environment in Wales is this summer starting to show signs of strain.
Hope through collective action
Addressing climate change cannot be done in isolation. Countries have put forward measures which, if enacted in full, would slow the rate of warming. Every fraction of a degree matters. Dr Jennifer Rudd, of Swansea University, said just 2C of warming would spell mass die-back of coral reefs, but she was heartened by the way mangrove swamps, which store a lot of carbon, are recovering after some human help.
Dr Rudd was also excited by the rapid decarbonisation of the UK's electricity grid, as well as rewilding projects. She cited a study of nearly 130,000 people in 125 countries which found that 89% of respondents wanted more political action on climate change.
Dr Rudd, co-director of the university's Climate Action Research Network, said climate change education must give learners opportunities to do something about it as well as imparting knowledge. She cited school costume swaps for Halloween and World Book Day, and a uniform swap to reduce environmental impact.
'Individual change feels like a drop in the ocean,' said Dr Rudd. 'It's really important you don't make people think they can't be part of the solution. When you get together with another person and another person and another person you can go from individual action to systemic change. That's the exciting bit, letting people know they have a voice and can effect change.'
Such shifts are described as social tipping points, where changes in attitudes and behaviour trigger much bigger and more widespread change. Dr Rudd noted that climate action is not just for engineers and chemists: 'You need more people going into politics, into advocacy work.'
Asked for three things people who want to take action should consider, she recommended ethical banking, making sure you vote, and trying to buy local seasonal produce. 'We just need to make it easier for people to make the ecological decision,' she said. 'Then it becomes less polarising. It's not a fight anymore.'
