Although perceptions of common weather phenomena moderately align with instrumental measurements of such phenomena(1), the evidence that weather or climatic conditions influence beliefs about anthropogenic climate change is mixed(2-13). This study addresses both foci, which are important to scholars who investigate human-environment interactions and observers who expect greater exposure to weather or climate extremes to translate into stronger support for climate change adaptive measures and mitigative policies. We analyse the extent to which state-level winter temperature anomalies influence the likelihood of perceiving local winter temperatures to be warmer than usual and attributing these warmer temperatures mainly to global warming. We show that actual temperature anomalies influence perceived warming but not attribution of such warmer-than-usual winter temperatures to global warming. Rather, the latter is influenced more by perceived scientific agreement; beliefs about the current onset, human cause, threat and seriousness of global warming; and political orientation. This is not surprising given the politicization of climate science(14,15) and political polarization on climate change beliefs(16,17) in recent years. These results suggest that personal experience with weather or climate variability may help cultivate support for adaptive measures, but it may not increase support for mitigation policies.
McCright, AM; Dunlap, RE; Xiao, CY
The impacts of temperature anomalies and political orientation on perceived winter warming
Nature Climate Change