SWS: 87% of Filipinos experienced effects of climate change

A ricefiled in the Cordillera. (File photo by EV ESPIRITU / Inquirer Northern Luzon)

MANILA, Philippines — A survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Thursday found that 87 percent of Filipino adults have personally experienced the effects of climate change.

The survey was done in December 2023.

According to the SWS, 43 percent said that they experienced a moderate impact, 24 percent said that they experienced a little impact, 19 percent said that they experienced a moderate impact, and 13 percent said that they did not experience any impact of climate change.

On the other hand, 88 percent of Filipinos said that climate change is dangerous to their physical health, while 12 percent said that it was not dangerous to their physical health.

READ: Majority of Filipinos noticed climate change impacts in 2023, survey shows

READ: Simple things we can do as citizens to help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change

Meanwhile, 81 percent said that climate change is dangerous to their mental health, and 19 percent said that it was not dangerous to their mental health.

Furthermore, the negative emotions felt by the respondents ranked from highest to lowest are sadness, 56 percent; anxiety, 43 percent; fear, 43 percent; depression, 16 percent; anger, 11 percent; hopelessness, 11 percent; responsibility and guilt also at four percent.

For positive emotions, 22 percent of respondents felt patience, seven percent felt hope, seven percent felt calmness, six percent felt courage and happiness, two percent felt being irresponsible, and one percent felt excitement and innocence.

SWS added that 57 percent of respondents thought that humanity as a whole could solve climate change, 39 percent said that climate change could not be solved by humanity, and three percent were unsure.

The SWS said that 74 percent of respondents thought that they could do something to solve climate change, 17 percent were undecided, and nine percent disagreed.

The survey revealed that 73 percent of respondents were aware of climate change, while 27 percent said that they first heard of it during the survey.

However, 61 percent of respondents admitted that they did not do anything to directly or indirectly reduce climate risks or risks resulting from climate change, and 39 percent said that they made efforts otherwise.

The SWS added that 1,200 adults nationwide were surveyed, while the margin of error was at  ±2.8 percent for national percentages, and ±5.7 percent for Metro Manila, Luzon outside Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.