“This year, the weather is like it used to be in our times”: Experiencing climate change in the context of rural ageing in the Czech Republic

The various contexts in which the intersection of rural ageing and the experience of climate change takes place remain understudied. In our paper, we draw on a qualitative analysis of 40 in-depth interviews collected in 2021 with older (between 54 and 85 years old) long-term residents from two rural regions in the Czech Republic, representing a post-socialist, relatively climate-sceptic society. We address how participants interpret their life-long environmental experiences in the context of accelerating climate change. Our analysis focuses on four issues, which are reflected in the interviews – (1) the collapse of spruce forests, (2) decreasing snow cover, (3) long-term drought, and (4) extreme storms. These issues inspire various repertoires, which participants use to make sense of these occurrences. The findings reveal that research participants often simplify the causes of changes they have experienced, preferring familiar, concrete explanations over abstract scientific knowledge. While experiential knowledge plays a central role, it does not necessarily lead to heightened climate change awareness. Instead, pre-existing beliefs or values significantly affect how climate-related events and processes are interpreted. Contrary to expectations, the volume and proximity of experiences do not imply higher sensitivity to climate change. Besides age-related differences, the study highlights regional discrepancies in climate change perceptions, with participants in South Moravia acknowledging their vulnerability and expressing greater openness to climate adaptations.