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Majority of US voters link extreme weather to climate crisis, study finds

New polling from Data for Progress shows that 61% of likely US voters believe extreme weather has become more frequent in the past five years, with majorities linking climate change to worsening heatwaves, wildfires, and other events. The findings come as activists push back against 'climate hushing' among politicians.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 19 – Aug 1, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

As the US endures a summer of dangerous heat, drought, and floods, new polling indicates that a majority of Americans connect increasingly severe weather to the climate crisis. The survey, conducted by the progressive polling firm Data for Progress and shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that 61% of likely American voters believe extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past five years.

The findings cut across party lines: 72% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, and 46% of Republicans hold this view. The poll also found that 67% of participants say climate change is making heatwaves worse, the highest share for any extreme weather event surveyed, followed by wildfires (64%), droughts (63%), flooding and flash flooding (62%), hurricanes (59%), and severe thunderstorms and hailstorms (59%).

Coverage comparison

The Guardian reported on the polling in two related articles. One focused on the data itself, highlighting the public's growing recognition of climate change's role in extreme weather. The other centered on the activism response, framing the poll as evidence that challenges the need for "climate hushing"—a term for politicians, particularly Democrats, avoiding climate talk.

Both articles draw on the same underlying survey and quote similar sources, including Grace Adcox, senior climate strategist at Data for Progress, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. The second article also features quotes from environmental activists like Bill McKibben and Margie Alt, emphasizing the urgency of climate action.

Key Claims

61% of likely voters believe extreme weather events have become more frequent in the past five years, with notable support among Democrats (72%) and even nearly half of Republicans (46%).
67% of participants say climate change is making heatwaves worse, with 48% of Republicans agreeing—the highest share for any event among that group.
Majorities link climate change to worsening wildfires, droughts, flooding, hurricanes, and severe thunderstorms, according to the survey.
88% of participants favor policies requiring employers to provide heat protections for workers, a finding reported in the Guardian's coverage.
Activists argue that the polling disproves the notion that the public is not concerned about climate, and they are organizing events in at least 20 states during the federal recess to push lawmakers to address the issue.

Perspectives

Grace Adcox, Data for Progress

Adcox emphasized that the poll was designed to find consensus on extreme weather as an entry point for bipartisan conversation on climate intervention. She suggested that despite efforts to suppress climate concerns, the public is not fully swayed.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Whitehouse, a longtime critic of "climate hushing," said the data "adds to the mountain of evidence that the public is way ahead of the politicians on the dire consequences of climate change," and warned that "climate hushers who ignore this righteous fight should take note."

Climate Action Campaign and activists

Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, said "the long history of the climate movement proves that we move fastest when there's real pressure from the grassroots," and that "all the evidence shows those grassroots are as worried about the climate crisis as they ever were." Margie Alt, director of the Climate Action Campaign, said the message is "talk about climate, climate can't wait, and we want to see action."

How this outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC

Framing: Climate crisis increasingly linked to extreme weather by Americans — Informative and objective, with a hint of urgency

Facts Included:

61% of likely American voters believe extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past five years
72% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, and 46% of Republicans believe extreme weather events have become more frequent
Majorities link climate change to worsening wildfires, droughts, flooding, hurricanes, and severe thunderstorms
67% of participants say climate change is making heatwaves worse
88% of participants favor policies requiring employers to provide heat protections for workers

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Aug 1, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC

Framing: Activists push back against 'climate hushing' trend — Advocacy-oriented, with a sense of urgency and importance

Facts Included:

Torrential rains and heatwaves have affected various parts of the country
Research shows global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe
US activists are pushing back against the trend of 'climate hushing'
New polling challenges the need for 'climate hushing'
61% of likely voters believe extreme weather has become more frequent over the past five years

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
Claim61% of likely American voters believe extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past five years.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC
Claim72% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, and 46% of Republicans believe extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past five years.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC
ClaimMajorities link climate change to worsening wildfires, droughts, flooding, hurricanes, and severe thunderstorms.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC
Claim67% of participants say climate change is making heatwaves worse.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC
Claim88% of participants favor policies requiring employers to provide heat protections for workers.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 19, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC
ClaimTorrential rains and heatwaves have affected various parts of the country.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 1, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC
ClaimResearch shows global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 1, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC
ClaimUS activists are pushing back against the trend of 'climate hushing'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 1, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: The Guardian — World 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14