Most Americans expect a hotter-than-usual summer — and nearly all will rely on AC

The latest Economist/YouGov Poll finds that most Americans (61%) expect this summer to be hotter than usual. So it's a good thing that the vast majority (90%) of Americans have air conditioning in their homes — including 91% of those expecting an unusually hot summer. In-home air conditioning is more common among people in the South (95%), Midwest (94%), and Northeast (88%) than among people who live in the West (79%).

About two-thirds (69%) of Americans say that in the summer they use air conditioning almost always or most of the time. Among people who use air conditioning during the summer, a majority (75%) say they keep their home between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit; on average, they keep it at 71 degrees.

Another recent YouGov survey found that most Americans with air conditioning (61%) sometimes turn it down or refrain from using it in order to save money; 35% sometimes reduce usage to avoid burdening the electric grid and 26% do so to avoid harming the environment.

Expectations about summer heat vary sharply by political party identification. Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to expect this summer to be hotter than usual.

Hotter than usual temperatures may be caused by climate change, a topic that a majority of Americans (61%) say they know either a lot (19%) or some (41%) about. People with a college degree are more likely than those without one to say they know some or a lot about climate change (70% vs. 56%). And Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they know about it (72% vs. 51%).

The vast majority of Americans agree that the world's climate is changing, but there is some disagreement as to whether people are causing it: 63% of Americans believe the climate is changing as a result of human activity, while 23% think climate change is not being caused by humans. Only 5% of Americans believe the world's climate is not changing.

What do Americans think scientists who study climate believe about climate change? The vast majority of people who think climate change is caused by humans (94%) believe that most scientists would agree with them. People who believe the climate is changing but not due to humans are divided in their perceptions of how scientists view the issue: 47% think most scientists would agree with their stance, while 37% think most scientists believe human activity is causing climate change. About half (49%) of those who think the climate isn't changing think climate scientists agree with them.

We asked people who say climate change is not caused by human activity, but who think most climate scientists disagree with them, why they think scientists disagree. Common responses to the open-ended question, as identified with the help of an AI tool, are that scientists are biased, politically motivated, or financially incentivized to support the idea that climate change is caused by human activity. One respondent says, “They say whatever to get more money.” Another says that “scientists have their agenda, I don't believe they are honest.” Others point to natural explanations, saying that climate change is “the result of the natural cycles of the Earth.”

Image: Getty (Antonio_Diaz)

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