Kate Sambrook

Project: Public perceptions of heatwaves and climate change in the U.K.

The purpose of this project is to bring together physical geographical measures (e.g., Met Office data) with psychological data (from focus groups, experiments, and surveys) to explore public perceptions of heatwaves in the U.K. Sharing insights from both disciplines, I am interested in examining current public understanding of heatwaves, how experienced heat affects health and the usefulness of charts in communicating heatwave risk. My research will build on previous work on public responses to heatwaves and graphical health risk communication conducted in the Leeds Centre for Decision Research, whilst making a unique contribution to both climate change communication and psychology fields (cognitive and perceptual; experimental).