Our concern about climate change and the environment has reached a record high, according to new figures.
Public opinion specialists YouGov said that 27 percent of people in the UK now believe that the state of the environment is one of the top three issues facing the country.
Only Brexit (rated in the top three by 67 percent of people) and health (rated by 32 percent) are deemed more pressing.
Among young people aged between 18 and 24, concern for the environment is even greater. Some 45 percent of people in this age group said the environment is one of the three most pressing issues facing the UK, making it their second biggest worry after Brexit.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
YouGov said that this "sudden surge in concern" has been "undoubtedly boosted" by Extinction Rebellion's high-profile protests in central London in April and the incredibly effective activism of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.
Back in mid-April, just 17 percent of people rated the environment as one of the top three pressing issues facing the UK, making it only our sixth biggest collective worry.
Thunberg had harsh words for MPs when she visited London in April, condemning the UK for its role in bolstering the fossil fuel industry, and calling out "its current, very creative accounting" when reporting our reductions in carbon emissions.
Climate change anxiety has become so distressing for some people in the UK that it's now possible to attend a workshop to help you deal with it.
Ellie Broughton attended one such workshop in April, and wrote for Refinery29 at the time: "Not everyone experiences 'climate grief' or the like, and not everyone who feels that way wants to spend a day discussing it with strangers. But if you feel it, and you don't know how to deal with it yet, it seems crazy to try and sit on it.
"If you can't share what’s going on with friends or family yet, [these] workshops seem like a great way to bring your fears out into the open for the first time."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT