Poll: Americans more likely to believe in climate change after facing extreme weather

Poll: Americans more likely to believe in climate change after facing extreme weather
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Recently shared Gallup poll found that 1 in 3 Americans in the last two years experienced some kind of extreme weather event. One of the key points of this poll is that victims of extreme weather are more likely to accept climate change.

... 63% of those who have been affected by extreme weather worry "a great deal" about global warming or climate change, compared with 33% who have not been affected.

In addition, 78% of extreme weather victims believe the effects of global warming have already begun. Only 51% of nonvictims support such outlook. And if 64% of victims expect a serious threat to their way of life during their lifetime, just 36% of nonvictims expect significant impact.

Over the past six years opinions about climate change and global warming among Americans haven't changed.

Here are the key findings of this year's poll:

  • 43% of U.S. adults worry "a great deal" about global warming or climate change, with 22% worrying a fair amount and 35% only a little or not at all.

  • Six in 10 Americans believe the effects of global warming have already begun, while 12% expect them to occur within their lifetime. Sixteen percent believe future generations will be affected, while 11% believe the effects of global warming will never happen.

  • Americans split evenly as to whether the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated (38%) or generally underestimated (40%) in the news. About one in five believe the news is generally correct in its assessment.

  • By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, Americans cite human activities (65%), rather than natural changes in the environment (34%), as the cause of increases in the Earth's temperature over the past century.

  • Forty-five percent say global warming will pose a serious threat to their way of life during their lifetime, while 54% disagree that this will happen.

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