Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature17441 (2016)

Credit: © TATIANA MOROZOVA / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Climate change is often intangible to the general public and individuals have more understanding of the local weather than the global climate. If their weather experience is positive, they may be less concerned about climate change. In the USA, climate change has resulted in most regions becoming more temperate, as the winters have warmed, and temperate climates are preferred locations to reside.

Patrick Egan of New York University, USA and Megan Mullin of Duke University, USA develop an index of personal weather preference and investigate current and future weather experiences of the US population. They report that at present, 80% of the population are living in counties where the weather is better than it was 40 years ago — with warmer winters, but no experience of excess heat or humidity in summer. This indicates that as climate change reporting has risen, most Americans have experienced more pleasant weather, which may reduce motivation to act.

However, projections under a high emissions scenario suggest that 88% of the population will experience weather less preferable by 2100, compared to recent times. The impact of increasing summer temperatures will exceed that of winter warming, causing less pleasant living conditions. Such a change in personal experience may increase public pressure to act on climate change. BW