Climate change is one of the most urgent threats facing contemporary societies, and Spain is no exception. In the coming decade, increasingly intense heatwaves and prolonged droughts are being profiled as extreme, high-impact weather phenomena bearing direct effects on health, the economy, and ecosystems. Understanding how society perceives these risks, and to what extent it is prepared to adapt, is essential for designing effective public policies. Adaptation is indispensable for reducing vulnerability and as a complement to mitigation actions (Fankhauser, 2017). Its success depends on society’s acceptance of the policies (Dechezleprêtre et al., 2025) and on the way in which climate change measures and responsibilities are communicated (Howell et al., 2016). Climate change scepticism, in its different degrees, can condition individual action and requires rigorous measurement (De Graaf et al., 2023). In Spain, evidence continues to be limited.

This study seeks to address this limitation, offering the first analysis of national scope on the social perception of climate change, and society’s present and future capacity for adaptation, with special attention paid to regional differences. To reach these objectives, an online questionnaire was designed with a national reach and representative of the different Spanish climate regions, leading to 9,240 valid surveys. The survey was conducted in two waves (August 2024 and March 2025) to consider possible seasonal patterns. The questionnaire explores factors that condition individual perception of climate change and adaptation decisions – individual and collective – in four blocks: perceptions and experiences regarding extreme weather events, adaptation undertaken in the two years prior to the survey, future adaptation (through an economic experiment) and participant profile.

The results reveal various actions and results: against extreme heat, adaptation measures have started to be implemented to attenuate its effects, showing regional differences. Weather phenomena have also directly affected habits and decisions in daily life. For its part, climate change scepticism is not a majority stance, although this varies according to the trust placed in sources of scientific information. Scepticism has conditioned recent adaptation and may become an obstacle to adaptation in the future.

The data show important differences in how the population responds to two climate phenomena, i.e., high temperatures and water shortages. Thus, in regions more exposed to extreme weather phenomena, such as the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean south coastal area, over half of the population claim that they have modified their habits because of the heat in the last two years, while around 45% have done so due to water shortages. In contrast, in northern Spain these figures fall to 35% for high temperatures and 20% for water shortages. Prominent among the main adaptation measures for the heat, are the acquisition of air conditioning equipment and ventilation systems (49%), followed by the installation of elements for protection from the sun, such as blinds or awnings (18%). In contrast, actions with a higher cost, such as those related with thermal insulation, have only been adopted by 10% of survey participants in the last two years. 


 

Over the last two years, heat and water shortages have generated differentiated impacts on the daily habits of the population. In the case of high temperatures, the most frequent changes fall in the personal sphere. Thus, around 40% of those surveyed declare that they have significantly modified their hygiene habits and their dietary patterns towards foods that are easier to digest. Approximately one third of individuals have changed their sports routines and their consumption patterns (e.g., purchase of lighter clothing). Around 28% have varied the frequency of recreational bathing or their form of relating socially (less interaction in the open air, or with changed timetables). Adaptations linked to summer holiday locations (22%) or the workplace (14%) are less common.



With regard to water shortages, it can be observed that people are opting for everyday adjustments in their domestic water consumption, while more structural modifications, or those that mean renouncing leisure activities, are less frequent. Thus, one of the main adaptations is the voluntary reduction of water use in the household (34%), followed by an increase in consumption of bottled water (28%). Other measures, such as the restriction of the use of water outside, cuts in supply, or the closing of recreational facilities, score below 25%. Notably, 80% of participants relate the water shortage with an increase in food prices, although this is not reflected in a particularly significant change in their consumption habits towards cheaper and less healthy foods (20%).

The Climate Scepticism Index (CSI) has been calculated based on a series of questions that reflect the four dimensions of scepticism: tendency (Does climate change exist?), attribution (Are we responsible for it?), impact (Does it really have an impact on our lives?) and response (Can we do anything about it?).

In Spain, the CSI obtains a score of 2.9 out of 7, which represents broad acceptance of the problem. In particular, 77% of participants believe climate change exists, while 19% show scepticism and 4%, indifference. The results show regional differences. The percentage of those believing that it exists is higher in the Canary Islands (84%) than in the provinces along the Cantabrian coast (79%), in the south along the Mediterranean coast (78%) and in the central regions of Spain (75%). Slight differences between generations are observed. The group of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) presents the highest percentage of accepters in the existence of climate change (79%), while the other generations rank below the national figure. The results also show that the proportion of sceptics and indifferents declines with education level, whereas it increases with income level. As a general rule, the differences detected are small.


 

The results show that trust in traditional media to find out about science is associated with lower levels of climate scepticism. Among those who trust the printed press, only 12% are sceptics, versus 22% who do not trust it. For television, the difference is 14% versus 23%, and for radio, 15% versus 20%. In contrast, trust in mobile messaging is related with greater scepticism (36% versus 18%), followed by trust in social media (25% versus 18%). The internet shows barely one point of difference (18% versus 19%). In this case, the type of contents consumed may be more of a determining factor than the media themselves.


 

The perception of the climate change phenomenon is a determining factor for current adaptation to it. Among people who have doubts about its significance or even its existence (sceptics), it is observed that only 20% recognise having made adaptations due to heat or water shortage in the last two years. These percentages increase significantly in the non-sceptics group: over 50% recognise changes in behaviour linked to high temperatures and around 45% linked to the water shortage. The degree of scepticism is slightly higher in the centre and the Mediterranean south than in the north or in the Canary Islands, which indicates that it does not only depend on direct experience of extreme weather phenomena.


 

As presented, the Future Adaptation Index (FAI) reflects people’s willingness to adopt a series of individual and collective measures. For Spain, the FAI presents a value of 5 on a scale of 7 points. The collective FAI (5.3) is higher than the individual FAI (4.4). This reveals that participants grant a central role to the public sector with respect to future adaptation. Furthermore, adaptation measures that represent an individual cost face lower acceptance.

However, not all participants received the same information when it came to answering these questions. They were divided into three groups: without information (control group), with information on a national level, and with information on a regional level, regarding forecasts of the future impact of climate change.

The results of this experiment show that providing information increases willingness to adapt, although the effect is marginal (+1.6%). Regional information has a greater influence on individual adaptation measures (+3.5% versus +3.1%), while national information does so more on collective adaptation measures (+1.1% versus +0.8%).

It is worth highlighting that climate-change scepticism has a relevant influence on the FAI, it being 15% lower among sceptics than among accepters. However, it is worth pointing out that the group of sceptics that receives climate information presents an FAI higher than its control group, this being greater if said information is regionalised (+2.1%) than if it is national (+1.2%).




 

Extreme heat and water shortages are already significantly altering living habits in Spain. Adaptation capacity and willingness vary according to region and the type of measures considered. The population tends to adopt low-cost everyday adjustments more readily, while actions that require greater investment or structural changes are less frequent.

Although a minority stance, climate-change scepticism can constitute a decisive factor in society’s response, given that it conditions both present and future adaptation. It has been confirmed that this scepticism not only depends on socioeconomic characteristics, but that it strongly correlates with the sources of scientific information in which people trust. This highlights the need for rigorous and accessible communication.

The economic experiment showed that providing information on climate change increased willingness to adapt, although in a limited way. However, scepticism may represent a key obstacle for future adaptation. This suggests that reinforcing society’s trust in science and in the institutions is as crucial as expanding the information available.

Adaptation to climate change in Spain requires a comprehensive focus that combines ambitious public policies geared towards promoting stronger adaptation measures, effective scientific communication, and strategies to reduce climate change scepticism. In this way, a broad and consistent social response can be ensured against the present and future impacts of climate change.

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Dechezleprêtre, A., A. Fabre, T. Kruse, B. Planterose, A. Sanchez Chico y S. Stantcheva, (2025) : «Fighting climate change: International attitudes toward climate policies». American Economic Review, 115(4). 

Fankhauser, S. (2017). «Adaptation to climate change». Annual Review of Resource Economics, 9.

Howell, R. A., S. Capstick y L. Whitmarsh (2016): «Impacts of adaptation and responsibility framings on attitudes towards climate change mitigation». Climatic change, 136.