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Research published by the United Nations University\u2019s Institute for Water, Environment and Health found that seven in ten adults in England had seen a formal heat alert, yet 41 percent of them took no action<\/strong> to protect themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n The most common reason was not confusion, but disbelief: many simply did not see themselves as being at risk.<\/p>\n Only 18 percent of people in England report a high perception of heat risk<\/strong>, the study found, and roughly 30 percent say they know little or nothing about how to protect themselves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Social media, the system\u2019s main means of getting the word out, was the least trusted source of heat information, particularly among older adults \u2013 the group most vulnerable to extreme heat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The national survey published by UNU drew on the views of 1,097 adults along with 29 heat risk communicators<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n England\u2019s warning system has been severely tested this summer \u2013 a season that is normally fast drawing to a close once it is mid-August.\u00a0<\/p>\n England’s warning system was tested severely this summer. On 26 June, temperatures at Lingwood, Strumpshaw Hill, reached a provisional 37.7\u00b0C, breaking a June record that had stood since 1976, while the country was placed under only its second-ever Red Heat Health Alert.\u00a0<\/p>\n That was surpassed on 13 August, when Kew Gardens in southwest London recorded a provisional 38.1\u00b0C\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 the year’s hottest day so far, and the fifth-hottest on record, though still short of the UK’s August record of 38.5\u00b0C set in 2003. Further amber alerts followed through the month.<\/p>\nOlder, not wiser<\/strong><\/h2>\n