September 25, 2023
Nearly nine in ten (87%) of adults have experienced at least one extreme weather event in the past five years, including extreme heat waves, severe winter storms, major drought, hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, or major flooding. Three quarters of the public have experienced an extreme weather event in just the past few months alone.
Among those who have experienced extreme weather, three quarters think climate change has been at least partially responsible. Democrats who have experienced extreme weather are more convinced that climate change (93%) was a cause, compared to just half of Republicans (48%).
With 2023 clocking in as the hottest summer on record, 74% of adults report experiencing extreme heat within the past five years, up from 55% in April 2023. Nearly seven in ten adults experienced an extreme heat wave in the past few months alone.
Six in ten adults say smoke from wildfires impacted them at least somewhat over the past few months, including 15% who say it affected them a lot.
Most adults (74%) think climate change is happening, a share similar to AP-NORC’s previous polling. Among those who think climate change is happening, 61% think it is caused at least mostly by human activities, 10% think it is caused at least mostly by natural changes to the environment, and 29% think it is caused by an equal mix of both natural causes and human activities. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think climate change is happening, and are more likely to attribute it to human activities. Just 5% of Democrats are unsure if climate change is happening or say it is not happening.
About half of the public say they have become more concerned about climate change in the past year, including 74% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans. Just 9% report being less concerned. Adults aged 60 or older are also more likely to report becoming more concerned in the past year than younger adults.
Thirty percent report feeling very or extremely anxious about climate change, as well as 27% who feel very or extremely angry. Twenty percent feel motivated and 13% feel hopeful. Democrats are more likely to feel angry, anxious, and motivated, whereas Republicans are more likely to feel hopeful. Emotions about climate change are roughly similar across different generations.
A quarter of adults say climate change has already had a major impact on them personally and 4 in 10 think it will have a major impact on them within their lifetime. Roughly 1 in 10 say climate change has already impacted their health, financial situation, and their area’s water availability. Adults under the age of 45 are more likely than older generations to say that climate change has or will have a major impact on their personal finances (58% vs. 46%).
Fifty-nine percent of the public think the federal government is currently doing too little to reduce climate change, including 82% of Democrats and 31% of Republicans. Twenty-two percent of the public think the government is doing too much on reducing climate change.
People report that politicians have little influence over their views on climate change. Extreme weather events are the biggest influence on their views about climate change. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to report being influenced by external forces on climate change views.
When it comes to natural disaster relief, there is more support for the government providing money for residents to rebuild their area rather than the government buying these homes so residents can move to a safer area. Fifty-nine percent of Democrats support the government providing money for residents to rebuild compared with to 45% of Republicans. About half of Democrats (49%) support the government buying these homes compared with a quarter of Republicans.
Fifty-two percent of the public, including 78% of Democrats and 23% of Republicans, approve of how President Biden has handled natural disaster relief, down from 63% last October following Hurricane Ian. Forty-two percent approve of his handling of climate change, including 65% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans.
The nationwide poll was conducted September 7-11, 2023 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,146 adults. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (September 2023). “Nine in ten have experienced extreme weather and most climate climate change” https://apnorc.org/projects/nine-in-ten-have-experienced-extreme-weather-and-most-blame-climate-change/
