Americans are becoming more worried about extreme heat

Analysis of survey data from March 2018 to April 2023 shows that Americans are increasingly worried about extreme heat harming their local areas. Concern grew by 9 percentage points over five years, outpacing increases in worry about other climate impacts such as wildfires and droughts. A majority of Americans also recognize the link between global warming and extreme heat.

• As of April 2023, 72% of Americans are at least "a little" worried about extreme heat harming their local area, with 44% reporting they are either "very" or "moderately" worried.
• Public worry that extreme heat might harm local areas increased by 9 percentage points from March 2018 to April 2023, rising from 35% to 44%. Specifically, the proportion of those who are "very" worried increased by 8 points.
• The increase in concern over extreme heat (+9 points since March 2018) exceeded the increase in worry for other climate impacts, including wildfires (+5 points), droughts (+5 points), water shortages (+4 points), reduced snow pack (+2 points), hurricanes (-1 point), and flooding (-3 points).
• A large majority of Americans (75%) believe global warming affects extreme heat at least "a little," and 42% state it affects it "a lot."

APA

Ballew, M., Marlon, J., Rosenthal, S., Carman, J., Kotcher, J., Maibach, E., & Leiserowitz, A. (2023). Americans are becoming more worried about extreme heat. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/americans-are-becoming-more-worried-about-extreme-heat/

Chicago

Ballew, M., J. Marlon, S. Rosenthal, J. Carman, J. Kotcher, E. Maibach, and A. Leiserowitz. Americans are becoming more worried about extreme heat. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/americans-are-becoming-more-worried-about-extreme-heat/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ballew |first1=M. |last2=Marlon |first2=J. |last3=Rosenthal |first3=S. |last4=Carman |first4=J. |last5=Kotcher |first5=J. |last6=Maibach |first6=E. |last7=Leiserowitz |first7=A. |title=Americans are becoming more worried about extreme heat |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=27 July 2023 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/americans-are-becoming-more-worried-about-extreme-heat/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ballew2023americans, author = {Ballew, M. and Marlon, J. and Rosenthal, S. and Carman, J. and Kotcher, J. and Maibach, E. and Leiserowitz, A.}, title = {{Americans are becoming more worried about extreme heat}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/americans-are-becoming-more-worried-about-extreme-heat/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }