The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a poll on Thursday based on a survey of 1,165 Americans conducted in late July. The findings present a divergence between rising personal experiences with extreme weather and declining public consensus on its underlying cause.

Sixty-six percent of Americans believe climate change is happening, a decline from 73 percent in September 2025. Seventeen percent of respondents said they are not sure if climate change is happening, while 15 percent indicated it is not happening at all.

Despite this drop in belief, residents reported that heat exerted a greater influence on their daily lives compared to previous years. Thirty percent of survey participants said extreme heat exerted a major impact on their outdoor activities, compared to 21 percent in July 2024. Fifteen percent of respondents said their vacation and travel plans experienced a major impact from heat, up from eight percent in July 2024.

Financial strain from rising temperatures was also widespread among those surveyed. Eighty-one percent of Americans said their electricity bills have seen an impact from extreme heat over the last year, up from 69 percent in July 2024. Regional data showed that 44 percent of Americans living in the Midwest say extreme heat has had a major impact on their electricity bills, up from 29 percent two years ago. Thirty-five percent of respondents in the West described heat as having a major impact on their outdoor activities, higher than the national average.

Democratic respondents were more likely than Republican respondents to express that heat had affected their plans. Individual accounts reflected these statistical trends, with some noting sharp increases in energy consumption. "I feel like my utility costs probably doubled in the last three or four years," said Daemien Williams, a bridge inspector. "I do look at my bills pretty in detail and see that the kilowatts and the usage is actually up, not just the price that they’re charging for it."

Others observed shifts in seasonal patterns over their lifetimes. "When I was a kid, that seemed like a very rare thing when it did hit 100, everybody was like, whoa. And now it’s just every day," said John Hazel, a crime scene investigator.

"Seasons felt a little more balanced. Now it feels like summer’s a bit lingering. It starts earlier and lasts longer."

Scientific data indicates that environmental conditions have intensified in recent years. Scientists calculated that Earth’s average temperature in 2025 made it one of the three hottest years on record, following records set in 2024 and 2023. Climatologists at Virginia Tech University estimated that as of May, roughly 60 percent of the US was in a state of drought, with 20 percent facing extreme drought conditions.

Colorado and the Southeast, near Florida and Georgia, are among the hardest hit areas by drought. Virginia Tech climatologists noted that the La Nina climate pattern earlier this year had a drying effect on the Pacific Northwest.

Health consequences associated with high temperatures remain notable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that more than 1,220 deaths each year can be connected to heat as a contributing or underlying cause. An analysis found that 2,300 people died in the summer of 2023 due to conditions connected to excessive heat, the highest rate in 45 years of records.

"Brutal, life-threatening heat waves have become more frequent, more intense, and more persistent in many parts of the globe, including our western and midwestern states. Extreme heat compounded with long dry spells have affected our health directly, along with indirect effects on our wallets," said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist.

Research into the physiological effects of nighttime heat suggests broader disruptions to rest. Climate Central published a study finding that Americans are losing an average of 2 to 14 hours of sleep per year due to heat. Houstonians are losing an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep per year due to warming summer nights.

Houston experienced 116 mornings with a low temperature of 80 degrees or greater between 2020 and 2025. People in cities in the Middle East can lose 55 to 87 hours of sleep a year due to nighttime heat. In Mexico and Central America, sleep loss averages around 36 hours per person a year due to nighttime heat. The global average sleep loss due to hot nights is around 56 hours a year.