Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024

The report finds that an increasing number of Americans perceive global warming as a threat to public health, specifically identifying heat stroke, air pollution, and respiratory issues as growing risks. While 39% believe global warming harms the health of Americans generally, only 16% feel it harms their own health. There is growing recognition of disproportionate impacts on low-income people and people of color. Regarding energy, coal and nuclear power are viewed as the most harmful to health, though perceptions of wind and solar as harmful have slightly increased. Trust in first responders, primary care physicians, and climate scientists remains high as sources of health-related climate information.

• Public perception that global warming harms the health of Americans has increased, though personal perceived risk remains lower. 39% of Americans believe the health of Americans is being harmed by global warming "a great deal" or "a moderate amount," which is an 8 percentage point increase from 2014, while only 16% believe their own health is being harmed to the same extent.
• Americans are increasingly identifying specific health problems likely to become more common in their communities if global warming is not addressed. The most anticipated harms include heat stroke (45%), air pollution (44%), asthma and/or other lung diseases (43%), and pollen-related allergies (41%).
• Awareness of the disproportionate impact of global warming on specific vulnerable groups has grown. 47% of Americans recognize that some groups are more likely than others to experience health harms, an increase of 13 points since 2014. Low-income people (18%) and people of color (6%) are among the most commonly identified groups.
• Perceptions of the health impacts of different energy sources vary, with fossil fuels and nuclear energy viewed as more harmful than renewables. Coal is viewed as harmful by 65% of Americans, and nuclear energy by 53%. Natural gas is viewed as harmful by 38%, while wind (15%) and solar (12%) have seen small increases in perceived health harms.
• A significant portion of the public believes federal agencies and health professionals should increase their efforts to protect people from climate-related health harms. 39% believe agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FEMA should do more, and 24% believe doctors, nurses, and other health professionals should do more.
• Trust in information sources regarding the health harms of global warming is highest among first responders, primary care physicians, and climate scientists. First responders and primary care physicians are both trusted by 60% of Americans, while climate scientists are trusted by 50%.

APA

J., F., J., E., E., G., J., K., H., Z., Y., Y., J., C., S., R., K., T., T., M., M., V., J., M., E., R., M., G., A., L., & E., M. (2025). Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-public-perceptions-of-the-health-harms-of-global-warming-fall-2024/

Chicago

J., Fine,, Ettinger, J., Goddard, E., Kotcher, J., Zakiyyah, H., Yue, Y., Carman, J., et al. Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2025. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-public-perceptions-of-the-health-harms-of-global-warming-fall-2024/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{j2025climate, author = {J., Fine, and J., Ettinger, and E., Goddard, and J., Kotcher, and H., Zakiyyah, and Y., Yue, and J., Carman, and S., Rosenthal, and K., Thier, and T., Myers, and M., Verner, and J., Marlon, and E., Richards, and M., Goldberg, and A., Leiserowitz, and E., Maibach,}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Perceptions of the Health Harms of Global Warming, Fall 2024}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-public-perceptions-of-the-health-harms-of-global-warming-fall-2024/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }