Americans Connect Extreme Cold to Climate Change, New Poll Finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even the frigid temperatures experienced this winter are reinforcing the growing American belief that climate change is already affecting their lives. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that a significant portion of U.S. adults have experienced extreme weather events and are attributing them, at least in part, to climate change.
Matt Ries, a 29-year-old project manager in Tampa, Florida, and a self-described conservative-leaning independent, is among those convinced. Having lived in Florida for only three years, Ries noted that last summer felt exceptionally hot, followed by a series of hurricanes and, surprisingly, several days of below-freezing temperatures. “To me it’s just kind of obvious,” Ries stated, adding, “Things are changing pretty drastically; just extreme weather all across the country and the world… I do think humans are speeding up that process.”
The poll indicates that approximately 8 in 10 U.S. adults have encountered some form of extreme weather in recent years. Roughly half of those surveyed reported being directly affected by severe cold or winter storms. Notably, about three-quarters of those who experienced severe cold believe climate change is at least a contributing factor. This suggests a growing public understanding that global warming can create an unstable atmosphere, potentially allowing cold air from the Arctic to move further south more frequently.
The Midwest appears to be bearing the brunt of the cold weather phenomena. About 7 in 10 Midwestern adults have felt severe cold in the last five years, compared to about half of the residents in the South and Northeast, and one-third of those in the West.
Liane Golightly-Kissner, 38, from Delaware, Ohio, illustrates this perspective. “It’s counterintuitive to think, ‘Oh, gee, it’s really cold. That probably has something to do with global warming,’” she noted. Golightly-Kissner’s family dealt with frozen pipes this winter. While she recalls extremely cold days from her childhood in Michigan, she believes such events are becoming more frequent and lasting longer.
Beyond the immediate weather, about 4 in 10 Americans believe climate change will significantly impact their lives in the future, affecting health, air quality, and water availability. Roughly half of adults under 30 hold this view. Currently, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults believe climate change is, in fact, occurring, and those who do are more likely to see it as a major influence on their lives, both present and future.
Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, points to a combination of media coverage, political leadership, and public concern as creating a “symbiotic relationship,” driving increased awareness. Although many still perceive climate change as a distant issue, a growing number of Americans see its effects happening “here and now,” Leiserowitz said.
Rosiland Lathan, 60, of Minden, Louisiana, shares this view, noting the trend of hotter summers and colder winters. She recalls winters with snow and ice that left her car stranded and described the recent winter as having temperatures in the teens and 20s, while a couple of summers ago, it was “real, real hot” with highs in the 100s. “It’s normally hot in Louisiana, but not that hot,” Lathan remarked.
Natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires are also fueling concerns about the potential for increased costs. The survey shows about 6 in 10 U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned that climate change could lead to increasing property insurance premiums and energy costs.
Republicans are less concerned about these impacts when compared to Democrats and Independents.
The survey also showed that there is broad support for measures to help people in areas vulnerable to extreme weather, such as providing financial assistance to rebuild after disasters, making homes more resistant to damage, and offering homeowners’ insurance when it is unavailable privately. Restricting new construction in disaster-prone areas, however, saw divided opinions. Approximately 4 in 10 people support it, 4 in 10 are neutral while about 2 in 10 oppose it.
Golightly-Kissner believes there should be stricter building standards in areas prone to extreme weather. “These extreme weather conditions, they’re not going anywhere, and it would be hubris for us to continue in the same way,” she said. “I think we we have to change. We have to look toward the future and what’s the best way to keep our lives together when this happens again. Because it’s really not a question of if, it’s when.”
The AP-NORC poll of 1,112 adults was conducted Feb. 6-10, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
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