9 in 10 Americans Polled Say Extreme Heat Is Affecting Their Lives

New polling demonstrates that 9 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has impacted some aspect of their lives over the past year.

The AP/NORC poll, conducted from July 23-27, surveyed Americans on how extreme heat has affected them personally. Respondents were asked to disclose whether heat has impacted various aspects of their lives — including whether it has changed their plans or affected their spending habits.

Fifty percent of respondents said that extreme heat has had either a major or minor impact on their sleeping patterns, while only 44 percent said it has had no impact on their sleep. Fifty-two percent of respondents said extreme heat has impacted their travel or vacation plans, while again, 44 percent said it hasn’t.

According to the survey, two-thirds of Americans, 68 percent, said that their family’s outdoor activities have been impacted by extreme heat, while only 31 percent said their outdoor activities have not been impacted. Meanwhile, 81 percent said extreme heat over the past year has affected their electricity bills, while only 15 percent said they haven’t noticed a difference.

Broadly speaking, the poll finds that 9 in 10 Americans have seen at least some impact of extreme heat on their lives, a 7-point increase compared to two years ago. But despite that finding, fewer Americans recognized that climate change is happening than last year, with only 66 percent of those polled saying the climate crisis is real, compared to last year’s 73 percent.

Additional data released last week by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that this past July was the hottest month ever recorded in the country’s history, dating back to temperature records starting in 1895. Over 600 records for highest maximum and highest minimum temperatures were also set in various parts of the country in July.

Ocean temperatures across the world also set record highs last month. While El Niño played a role in those records being set, climate experts believe that the weather pattern was supercharged due to the climate crisis, making those temperatures much higher than they likely would have been without the effects of human-induced climate change.

The effects of the climate crisis are only going to get worse, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres predicted.

“We have already endured a summer of extremes — record-shattering heat domes, apocalyptic wildfires raging in Spain, France, and far beyond,” Guterres said in a statement late last month. “Thousands of lives lost in the scorching conditions. But according to the latest science, this is only a warm-up act.”