People with low incomes are more severely burdened during heatwaves than those with high household incomes. Young people under 30 and women with low incomes suffer the most from high temperatures. This was shown in a special evaluation of the 2023 “Microcensus Environment” survey conducted by Statistics Austria, commissioned by the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK). At a press conference on Tuesday, the AK called for social justice in climate protection.
More than 8,000 people were asked about their subjective perception of physical strain due to heat. Compared to the 2019 survey, the share of people who reported feeling very strongly affected by heat increased from about 13 to 18 percent. Among people with low income, 51 percent felt very strongly or rather strongly burdened by high temperatures. For those with medium income the figure dropped to 46 percent, and for those with high income to 42.3 percent.
The perceived burden during heatwaves also varied according to gender, age, and housing conditions. In terms of age, respondents under 30 in all income brackets reported the greatest strain due to high temperatures. Nearly 62 percent of people under 30 with low household income felt very strongly or rather strongly burdened. That was about eleven percentage points above the average of this income group (51 percent). The perceived burden decreased with age. Among people with low income who were over 60 years old, only 45.6 percent said they were very strongly or strongly affected.
According to Alexandra Wegscheider-Pichler, the study’s author at Statistics Austria, the survey reflected subjective perception of strain and not actual risk from high temperatures. It cannot be concluded that older people do not have issues with heat. Generally, the data shows that younger people tend to live in more densely populated areas than older people, but that only partially explains the higher reported heat strain among the younger population.
There were also differences in perceived burden between genders. Women across all income groups reported feeling more burdened by heat than men. The highest rate was among women with low incomes, 54.5 percent of whom felt burdened. Among men in this income group, the figure was 45.4 percent. As household income increased, the burden decreased for both women and men.
Housing situation also played a role in the perception of heat strain. People living in single-family homes in green areas tended to suffer less from high temperatures than those in multi-unit residential buildings in cities. The greater the number of housing units in a building, the stronger the perceived burden. In buildings with 20 or more apartments, people with medium income felt the most burdened, at 62.6 percent. In all other building types, people with low household income were most affected. People living in rented apartments reported a significantly above-average burden from heat, ranging between 52.2 and 55.5 percent depending on income. Among homeowners, only 40 percent reported feeling this way.
The size of the municipality also influenced the perception of heat strain. In cities with more than 20,000 residents, 56.4 percent of respondents with low income said they were very or rather strongly affected. Among high-income individuals, only 35 percent reported the same. In Vienna, which was reported separately, the burden was equally high across all income groups. In small communities with fewer than 5,000 residents, it was consistently low.
According to Matthias Schnetzer, head of the Department of Economics and Statistics at the Vienna Chamber of Labour, the psychological and physical burden from heat is becoming an increasing problem for the population. This is where the debate on inequality begins, because not all people contribute equally to the climate crisis, and not all people are equally affected by its consequences.
Because people with lower incomes are especially burdened by heatwaves while those with the highest incomes cause more greenhouse gas emissions, the AK Vienna called for social justice in climate protection. Public investments in the expansion and transformation of climate-friendly infrastructure are needed, along with politically balanced measures such as a socially fair CO₂ pricing system and protection for workers during extreme weather. The AK Vienna also called for a contribution from the wealthiest toward financing these efforts.
