WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record-high 48% of U.S. adults anticipate that global warming will, at some point, pose a serious threat to themselves or their way of life, up from 44% saying this a year ago. The current reading is two percentage points above the prior high in 2023, following a long-term increase from 25% in 1997.
The latest results are from Gallup’s March 3-16 Environment survey, conducted about a month after wildfires ravaged parts of southern California in January. This year’s installment of the annual survey also comes after numerous extreme weather events occurred around the country last summer and fall, including major flooding in North Carolina in September stemming from Hurricane Helene. Thirty-seven percent of Americans in March said they have personally been affected by an extreme weather event in the past two years.
Perception That Global Warming Effects Are Occurring Also at Peak Level
The percentage of Americans who believe the effects of global warming have already begun, now 63%, is up from 59% in 2024. This effectively matches the all-time high of 62% recorded in 2017, after registering between 59% and 61% in the intervening years.
As more Americans this year think the effects are already occurring, fewer say global warming’s effects will be apparent in the future, now 23%, while the percentage believing the effects will never occur remains steady at 12%.
Meanwhile, there has been no change in the amount that Americans report worrying about global warming or climate change. Forty percent worry a great deal, and 23% worry a fair amount. The combined 63% is in line with the 61% to 66% who have expressed this level of worry since 2017. Prior to that, worry had varied between periods of lower and higher concern. The all-time low was 50% in 1997, and the record high was 72% in 2000.
There has also been no recent change in Americans’ beliefs about the cause of rising temperatures over the past century. About six in 10 (62%) continue to say global warming is mainly the result of pollution from human activities, while 34% attribute it to natural changes in the environment.
News Coverage Gets a Bit More Scrutiny This Year
The same poll finds the highest percentage of Americans in a decade saying that the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated in the news. Forty-one percent now take this position, up from 37% last March and the highest since 2015. Still, nearly as many (38%) believe the news underestimates the gravity of the issue, while 20% say news coverage about global warming is generally correct.
While the percentage saying the news exaggerates the seriousness of global warming is up from last year, it has been higher in the past, including a peak of 48% in 2010.
Partisan Shifts Drive 2025 Changes
More Americans than a year ago think the effects of global warming are already occurring because more Democrats (up nine points to 91%) and independents (up seven points to 66%) now hold this view. Republicans’ belief that the effects are evident has dipped four points to 31%, but this is more than offset by the increases among Democrats and independents.
Similarly, more Americans now think global warming will pose a serious threat in their lifetime because of increased concern among Democrats (up eight points to a record-high 78% for the group), while views among independents and Republicans are fairly steady.
Meanwhile, more Americans today think the news exaggerates the seriousness of global warming because more Republicans (up six points to 78%) and independents (up seven points to 38%) now express this.
Global Warming on Lower End of Environmental Concerns
Gallup measures Americans’ concern about global warming alongside six other environmental issues.
The 63% who worry a great deal or fair amount about global warming is on par with concern about plant and animal extinction (64%) and the loss of tropical rainforests (67%). However, it ranks below all other environmental issues rated in the March survey. Those include air pollution (70%); waste management in the U.S. (75%); pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs (80%); and pollution of drinking water (80%).
The 24% of Americans saying they do not worry at all about global warming or climate change is by far the highest for any of the seven issues asked about, with the 15% for extinction of plant and animal species being the next highest and the 5% for pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs being the lowest.
At least half of Democrats worry a great deal about all seven issues, ranging from 50% for the loss of tropical rainforests and 55% for management of U.S. waste to 70% for global warming or climate change.
Majorities of independents worry a great deal about the two highest-ranked issues, both concerning water pollution. Fifty-six percent worry about pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs; 55% say the same about pollution of drinking water.
Republicans worry less than both Democrats and independents about all of the issues, ranging from a low of 8% for global warming to a high of 44% for pollution of drinking water.
Bottom Line
Americans appear to be taking climate change more seriously today than a year ago, with higher percentages saying the effects of global warming are evident and fearing it will negatively affect them in their lifetime. Yet, their personal worry about the problem is flat, and slightly more now believe the news exaggerates the seriousness of the problem. Heavy news coverage of several catastrophic environmental events in the past year could be contributing to these patterns.
Despite the scope of recent disasters, these events have personally touched fewer than four in 10 Americans. As long as such experiences remain the exception, global warming may continue to be more of an abstract than relevant problem to many Americans and thus lag other aspects of the environment as a major concern.
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