School pupils helped researchers survey perceived temperature

“We hope the project has stimulated the pupils’ curiosity about the climate and the environment they live in,” says Gabriele Messori, professor of meteorology and research leader for the project.

From autumn 2025 to summer 2026, more than 6,000 pupils aged 10 to 15 interviewed adults about their perceptions of different temperatures. The pupils also measured the temperature at the time of the interviews. They then submitted their data to Gabriele Messori and his colleagues at the Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University. An initial compilation of the results shows clear geographical differences in how people perceive the weather.

“Broadly speaking, people in southern Sweden seem to find the temperature pleasant more often than people in northern Sweden do. One possible explanation is that many people prefer moderately warm temperatures over colder temperatures,” says Gabriele Messori.

But the southern Swedish province of Scania is an interesting exception.

“There it can sometimes get too hot during the summer, which means that the temperature is perceived as less comfortable even though it is warmer. Warmer temperatures usually have a positive effect on perceived comfort, but high temperatures, above about 25 degrees Celsius, can feel unpleasant.”

Immediate environment a contributing factor

It’s not just the weather itself that affects temperature. The immediate environment also leads to temperature differences. For example, it is often warmer in a city that has many high-rise buildings than in a neighbourhood with many trees and smaller buildings, explains Gabriele Messori.

“This means that our perceptions of the current temperature can vary, even if we live quite close to each other. It also means that the weather forecast may not always be accurate for your precise location.”

A metropolitan area that is considerably warmer than the surrounding suburbs is called an urban heat island. There, the difference in temperature is usually greater during the night than during the day, and also greater during winter than summer.

“The results from the project can assist in the development of Sweden’s cities, for example through planting more trees in areas where temperatures are often perceived as uncomfortably hot,” says Gabriele Messori.

Important insights for today and in the future

The final results of the project have now been sent to the researchers, who hope to be able to compile all the data in the near future and use them in a scientific journal article.

“Temperature is something that affects how we feel – it affects public health. It has a particularly big impact when it’s extremely warm or extremely cold. The project has provided insights into how different environments affect temperature as well as people’s perceptions of the climate, and that's an important issue today and in the future,” says Gabriele Messori.

Anneli Björkman