Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

A.3. Perceived Risks of Global Warming

A.3.1. Six in ten Latinos think global warming is affecting weather in the United States.

The impacts of global warming are starting to be felt in the United States. According to the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/overview/overview

“Residents of some coastal cities see their streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. Inland cities near large rivers also experience more flooding, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. Insurance rates are rising in some vulnerable locations, and insurance is no longer available in others. Hotter and drier weather and earlier snow melt mean that wildfires in the West start earlier in the spring, last later into the fall, and burn more acreage. In Arctic Alaska, the summer sea ice that once protected the coasts has receded, and autumn storms now cause more erosion, threatening many communities with relocation.”

In line with this assessment, six in ten Latinos (62%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States either “a lot” (38%) or “some” (24%). Nearly half of Spanish-language Latinos (46%) think global warming is affecting the weather “a lot,” compared with only 23% of non-Latinos.

A.3.2. Half of Latinos think people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming.

Half of Latinos (50%) think people in the U.S. are being harmed by global warming “right now,” including nearly two in three Spanish-language Latinos (63%).

By contrast, only one in three non-Latinos (34%) think people in the U.S. are currently being harmed.

A.3.3. Latinos are more likely than non-Latinos to think global warming will cause “a great deal” of harm.

Six in ten or more Latinos think that plant and animal species (68%), future generations of people (64%), or the world’s poor (61%) will be harmed a “great deal” by global warming. A majority also think people in developing countries (55%), or their grandchildren (54%) will experience a great deal of harm.

Four in ten or more think family members outside the U.S. (48%), their children (46%), or people in the U.S. (44%) will be harmed a great deal. They are less likely to think that people in close proximity – their family (38%), people in their community (37%), or themselves (34%) will be harmed a great deal.

Non-Latinos are much less likely to think global warming will cause a great deal of harm to each group.

A.3.4. Most Latinos say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.

A majority of Latinos (53%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming. Fewer than half (46%) say they have not. Nearly six in ten Spanish-language Latinos (59%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.

By contrast, only about four in ten non-Latinos (39%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming, while six in ten (61%) say they have not.

A.3.5. Twice as many Latinos as non-Latinos have been harmed by extreme heat waves, drought, or polluted air.

About twice as many Latinos as non-Latinos say they have been harmed at least “a moderate amount” in the past year by extreme heat waves (22% vs. 11%), drought (18% vs. 10%), or polluted air (13% vs. 6%). More than one in four Spanish-language Latinos (26%) say they have been harmed by an extreme heat wave.