Where extreme heat is having the biggest impact on Americans’ lives, according to a new AP-NORC poll
Elisa Bracamonte has lived in Arizona her whole life, so she’s used to adjusting her schedule and outdoor activities around…
According to a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, an increasing number of Americans are feeling the personal impact of extreme heat on various aspects of their daily lives. The survey revealed that U.S. adults are more likely to attribute either a "major" or "minor" impact to extreme heat on their travel or vacation plans, electricity bills, sleep, their family's outdoor activities, and more.
The change in perception was primarily observed among individuals residing in the West and Midwest regions of the country. Additionally, Democrats were found to be more inclined than Republicans to consider extreme heat as having a "major" impact on each item surveyed. Climate change has intensified in recent years, with Earth's average temperature in 2025 being among the three hottest on record, alongside 2024 and 2023.
The United States has experienced dangerous heat domes in the past few years, with unusually high temperatures even during early summer months.
The recent scorching weather has been linked to thousands of heat-related deaths, surpassing any other weather-related event in terms of mortality. Extreme heat also affects wildfire risk, strains public infrastructure, damages agriculture, and disrupts gatherings such as sporting events.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
