The summer's unrelenting heat and deluges across America have brought a stark new reality to the fore, with a significant majority of voters now attributing the rising frequency of extreme weather events to the ongoing climate crisis. According to a poll conducted by Data for Progress – a progressive polling firm that has shared its findings exclusively with The Guardian – an astonishing 61% of likely American voters believe these disasters have become more common over the past five years.
This seismic shift in public sentiment stands in stark contrast to the views held by some prominent figures, including former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed global heating as a 'hoax'. However, it is not just Democrats – at 72% – and Independents – at 63% – who are increasingly convinced that climate change is driving these extreme weather events. A staggering 46% of Republicans also believe this to be the case.
Breaking down the figures further reveals a striking pattern: nearly two-thirds of respondents (67%) point directly to heatwaves as being 'worsened by climate change'. This includes an astonishing 48% of Republicans, the highest proportion for any event surveyed. Similarly, wildfires (64%), droughts (63%), flooding and flash flooding (62%), hurricanes (59%), and severe thunderstorms and hailstorms (59%) are all widely associated with climate change.
According to senior climate strategist Grace Adcox at Data for Progress, the widespread impact of extreme heat across America may be a key reason it dominates public perception. High temperatures cause more annual fatalities than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined – making this an area where policymakers can build bridges between parties.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, long an advocate for stronger climate action, noted that these findings only add to the mounting evidence that 'the public is way ahead of the politicians on the dire consequences of climate change'. He called on those who have downplayed climate concerns to take note of this growing awareness.
Yet despite the clear trend towards attributing extreme weather events to climate change, Jennifer Marlon, a senior research scientist at Yale, cautions that many Americans still do not fully grasp the underlying causes. A spring survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found 27% of respondents believed these changes were mostly natural, rather than human-caused.