Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming

The report finds that Americans are generally unaware of the health risks associated with global warming, with 70% having given the issue little or no thought. Only 31% believe global warming is currently harming the health of people in the U.S. to a moderate or great deal, and only 27% could name at least one related health problem. While there is limited awareness of current risks, 34% to 38% of respondents believe conditions such as air pollution, pollen allergies, and heat stroke will become more common in their communities over the next 10 years. Public trust for information on this topic is highest for primary-care doctors (49%), followed by family/friends, the CDC, climate scientists, and the American Medical Association. Additionally, nearly half of respondents believe federal agencies like the CDC, NIH, or FEMA (47%) and the U.S. Congress (46%) should do more to protect the public from these health problems.

• A significant majority of Americans have not considered the health impacts of global warming, with 70% stating they had given the issue little or no thought and only 10% reporting they had given it a "great deal" of thought.
• Awareness of current health problems linked to global warming is low; only 27% of Americans could name at least one such problem, while 43% did not answer the question and 14% responded that they "don't know."
• Most Americans do not perceive a high current risk to health from global warming, with only 31% believing it currently harms people in the U.S. to a "great deal" or "moderate amount," and 17% believing their own or their household's health is harmed to that degree.
• Expectations for future local health impacts are higher than current perceptions, with over one-third of Americans predicting that air pollution (38%), pollen-related allergies (38%), asthma/lung diseases (37%), heat stroke (36%), and bodily harm from severe storms or hurricanes (34%) will become more common in their communities over the next 10 years.
• There is notable support for increased government action, with 47% of Americans believing federal agencies such as the CDC, NIH, or FEMA should do more, 46% supporting more action from the U.S. Congress, and 44% supporting more action from state governments.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2014). Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-perceptions-of-the-health-consequences-of-global-warming/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming. 2014. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-perceptions-of-the-health-consequences-of-global-warming/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming |date=15 December 2014 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-perceptions-of-the-health-consequences-of-global-warming/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2014public, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-perceptions-of-the-health-consequences-of-global-warming/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }