This dataset contains a spreadsheet of responses to a questionnaire asking participants about their perceptions of global environmental challenges. This data has been fully anonymised by the author. The questionnaire (n=365) was conducted in Greater Manchester (UK) and the data collection took place between 2017 and 2018. Participants were recruited following a stratified random sampling technique to ensure that the number of participants recruited in each district of Greater Manchester was proportional to the number of inhabitants. The recruitment of participants was conducted mostly at street level. When comparing our sample with the most recent census data (2011), the project finds it to be sufficiently representative of the population of Greater Manchester.

The questionnaire was designed to: (1) identify which environmental hazards (flooding, pollution, severe weather, landslides, volcanos, radiation, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, and wildfires) are perceived by respondents in Greater Manchester to be most threatening; (2) compare how concerning these are perceived to be in relation to other non-environmental hazards relevant to this region (unemployment, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, and immigration); (3) explore what negative impacts are most reported as a consequence of environmental hazards (health issues, damage to infrastructure, damage to the economy, disruption to utilities, or disruption to the environment); (4) ascertain whether environmental hazards are perceived to be caused by human or natural forces; (5) identify the groups that are perceived to be most responsible for tackling environmental hazards (international organizations, national government, local government, scientists, environmental organizations, individuals, or business and industry.); and (6) identify preferred information sources when it comes to environmental hazards in terms of different media (social media, newspapers, radio, TV, games, special events, leaflets, specialist publications, or official websites), and in terms of different groups (friends and family, scientists, government, local organizations, media, or environmental organizations).