More than half of all Americans say climate change is affecting their local community

May 18, 2018

A man stands in flood waters as fire burns down a home in the seventh ward of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina September 6, 2005. The toxic brew of chemicals and human waste in the New Orleans floodwaters will have to be pumped into the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain, raising the specter of an environmental disaster on the heels of Hurricane Katrina, experts say. Pictures of the Year 2005 REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton SS/CN

Climate scientists say natural disasters are likely to become more frequent and more severe. Image: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton SS/CN

Brian Kennedy

Research Associate, Pew Research Center

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Future of the Environment is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Future of the Environment

31% of Americans say climate change affects their local area.

People living by the sea are more likely to believe they're affected by climate change.

Have you read?

US citizens living by the ocean are less likely to favour offshore drilling.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

More on Future of the Environment
See all

From fuel to fertilizer, how green ammonia could help curb emissions

Charlotte Edmond

November 30, 2023

This is what the climate crisis is costing economies around the world

Emma Charlton

November 29, 2023

1:36

Air pollution affects how children score on exams

World on course for almost 3°C of warming this century, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

Johnny Wood

November 27, 2023

The Sámi people want Sweden to protect its reindeer. Here’s why

Charlotte Edmond

November 27, 2023

The wind power industry is facing major cost headwinds. What's going on (and what can be done)?

Johnny Wood

November 23, 2023