While there is wide public concern over extreme weather, Americans are deeply divided — along partisan lines — on whether climate change is helping to drive these events, The Washington Post on Wednesday reported, citing a poll conducted jointly with the University of Maryland.
When asked if they think climate change is a major factor in those extremely hot days, 35 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say it is, compared with 85 percent of those who lean Democratic. Overall, 63 percent of Americans who experienced extremely hot days say climate change is a major factor, according to the report.
“There is a similar partisan divide over other extreme weather — such as severe storms, flooding, droughts and wildfires — with more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans attributing such events to climate change,” it noted.
The survey was conducted from mid- to late July, at the height of some of the hottest days the Earth has experienced in over 100,000 years. “Not surprisingly, a large majority of U.S. adults — 74 percent — say they’ve experienced extremely hot days in the past five years,” it added.