Australians are reporting higher levels of climate-induced anxiety following a summer characterised by heatwaves, destructive storms and bushfire threats.
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Almost every state and territory broke extreme weather records this summer with millions of Australians impacted by sweltering temperatures.
Polling conducted by the Climate Council revealed the summer heat left many worried about the effect of climate change on the country.
More than 1500 Australians were surveyed at the end of January and results showed climate-fuelled disasters were causing people to worry about whether they would be able to keep living in their current homes.
Nearly 80 per cent said they were worried about the impact of extreme weather events on children and young people while one in three worried they may have to permanently relocate.
Two in five surveyed had either already temporarily or permanently moved as a result of an extreme weather event or knew someone who had.
Climate Council fellow and general practitioner Grant Blashki said people's fears about being forced to relocate were not unfounded.
"This polling tells us that one in ten of us have already uprooted our lives due to extreme weather (and) the experience goes beyond moving house, it means losing the wonderful support and connections that communities provide," he said.
"Relocating is an extremely difficult call for families to make and one that reverberates throughout entire communities."
Queenslanders were the most likely to have experienced one or more floods, heatwaves and cyclones compared to other states and territories.
NSW and Queensland residents were also more likely to have lived through one or more droughts compared to other states.
An overwhelming majority of people surveyed also raised concerns about their home insurance premiums increasing due to worsening disasters.
Nearly 85 per cent said they worried insurance would become unaffordable in the future.
Major General Peter Dunn, a former ACT Emergency Services Authority commissioner, said communities needed information "about the risks they face, places to gather and make plans for when disasters strike and resources and education on how to keep one another safe".
"Now is the time to make decisive moves towards leaving fossil fuels behind, to protect our kids and grandkids from living through even worse fires and floods," he said.
Australian Associated Press
