Surabaya Faces the Heat: How Climate Change is Impacting Daily Life

The impacts of climate change are, therefore, becoming visible in urban areas across the world and Surabaya. With global temperatures continuing to rise and changes in weather becoming increasingly erratic, Surabaya is known for its hot and humid climate. In recent times, it has seen a rise in extreme heat quite drastically. The psychological distance, or how far people think climate change is from where they are, has a direct consequence on the level of public engagement in climate policy.

A study published in Nature Climate Change puts into perspective how public perception about climate change and PD are the main factors that influence public support for climate policy. It demonstrates that a great number of people regard climate change as something far away, and this makes the feeling of urgency rather minor. Such a trend is very evident in countries like Finland, which does not face the most evident and sharp results of climate change.

This in itself hints that even a 1C rise in global temperatures can have a marked impact on the way the public perceives the urgent need for action on climate. In fact, as temperatures rise, along with the increasingly erratic results of climate change, the problem is perceived as more distant. Such psychological distance makes the immediate need for policy changes difficult to conceptualize when one does not experience the worst of the effects personally.

The researchers point out that shrinking psychological distance-more salience of the local and immediate impacts-might form the basis for increased popular backing of climate policies. This clearly has a particular resonance in countries such as Finland, where people predominantly think about climate change as being somebody else's problem and therefore not an issue to be taken urgently by the nation.

Regina, a student at Universitas Airlangga shared her perspective on how psychological distance affects perceptions about climate change in her country. "Sometimes it feels like climate change is something happening somewhere else, or something we'll deal with in the future, not right now. It makes people care less about the immediate need for action," she said.

A number of different approaches to communications have been suggested to help decrease PD and better engage the public. This would include framing in terms of local impacts, increasing awareness of a shared global identity, and framing climate change as a current, local problem with specific, tangible implications. Other research has also recommended the use of immersive media in order to create virtual, direct experiences of climate change, which allow people to feel a closer connection to risks that might be thought of as distant. Yet, other researchers disagree that a reduction in PD would lead to more climate action.

As climate change escalates, effects are felt more strongly in Surabaya through rising temperatures and unpredictable weather. This psychological distance may be shielding some as yet from reality regarding the imminent threat, but daily struggles with excessive heat close this gap. For a city like Surabaya, addressing climate change is very urgent, not just as a global responsibility but even more so as a local concern. Building public awareness of the direct, personal impacts of climate change will be crucial to building support for effective policies that can mitigate these challenges and safeguard the city's future.

References

Hulkkonen, M., Mielonen, T., Leppnen, S., Laakso, A., & Kokkola, H. (2024, 6 28). Nature Climate Change. How tailored climate information affects attitudes towards climate policy and psychological distance of climate change, 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00136-y