South, West see upticks in residents' extreme weather experiences
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More than one-third of U.S. adults say they've been affected by an extreme weather event in the past two years, with larger increases in the West and South, a new Gallup poll shows.
- The nationwide increase from two prior surveys — from 33% to 37% — is within the poll's margin of error.
Why it matters: Climate change is making certain types of extreme weather events more severe and frequent, exposing more Americans to significant disruptions to their lives.
Zoom in: The new Gallup survey of 1,002 people, out this morning, shows upticks in the number of Americans in the West who have experienced an extreme weather event where they live, at 43%.
- This was up from 30% in 2023.
- The biggest reasons for the uptick was exposure to wildfire-related impacts and heat waves, the survey shows.
- Notably, 17% of those living in the West said they have been affected by wildfires in the prior two years, compared to just 5% in 2023.
There was also an increase among those living in the South, where about half of respondents reported they experienced an extreme weather event during the past two years.
- In the South, hurricanes were the type of extreme weather hazard most likely to affect people, with 28% saying they experienced one in the past two years, up from 18% in 2023, the survey showed.
The intrigue: The 2023 and 2024 Atlantic hurricane seasons brought destructive storms to the Southeast, including Hurricanes Milton and Helene last year.
- Climate change is projected to lead to more frequent occurrences of high-end hurricanes (though not more frequent hurricanes overall) and is already showing a tie to increased instances of rapid intensification of storms.
- Climate change is also causing these massive storms to deliver more rainfall than they used to, leading to inland flooding disasters, as was seen in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene.
Zoom out: Based on a separate question Gallup asked, Americans in the new poll who recently experienced extreme weather were much more likely to say they worry about climate change "a great deal" compared to those who haven't been through such an event.
- This effect was seen among both Republican and Democratic respondents and suggests that extreme weather experiences may correlate with greater climate change concern.
- The Gallup poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points.
What we're watching: Whether concerns about extreme weather motivate climate policy making at the state and local levels in particular.
