WASHINGTON (AP) — During the summer, Levena Lindahl closes off entire rooms, covers windows with blackout curtains and budgets to cover the monthly cost of electricity for air conditioning. But even then, the heat sneaks in.
“Going up the stairs is like stepping into soup. It’s so hot,” Lindahl said. “If I walk through the attic above, you can feel the heat radiating through a closed door.”
Lindahl, 37, of North Carolina, said her monthly summer electricity bills used to be around $100 years ago but have since doubled. She attributes the problem to a gradual trend toward global warming caused by climate change.
About 7 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had an impact on their electric bills in the past year, ranging from minor to major, and most have seen at least a minor impact on their outdoor activities, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
As tens of millions of Americans endure another summer of historic heat waves, the survey results reveal how extreme heat is changing people’s lives in ways big and small. The survey found that about 7 in 10 Americans have been personally affected by extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves in the past five years. That makes extreme heat a more common experience than other weather events or natural disasters like wildfires, major droughts and hurricanes, which up to a third of American adults said they have personally experienced.
A significant percentage of Americans (about 4 in 10) report that extreme heat has had at least a minor impact on their sleep, their pets, or their exercise routine.
Jim Graham, 54, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and worries about the safety of his dog’s paws when they go for walks outside, especially when the temperature exceeds 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). To protect his paws, he goes for walks at 5:30 a.m. “This year it seems to be hotter than usual,” Graham said. His single-story home has central air conditioning, and even setting the thermostat to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) costs him more than $350 a month in electric bills — a big jump from what he used to pay a decade ago.
He's not the only one watching the dollars pile up: About 4 in 10 Americans say they've had unexpectedly expensive utility bills in the past year because of storms, floods, heat or wildfires, including nearly half of homeowners.
Like Lindahl, many see a connection to climate change. About 7 in 10 American adults who have experienced some type of severe weather event or weather disaster in the past five years say they believe climate change was a contributing factor. Three in 10 think climate change was not a cause.
Last year, Earth was 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit (1.48 degrees Celsius) warmer than before the pre-industrial era, according to the European climate agency. CopernicusSome might perceive that increase as insignificant, but temperatures fluctuate unevenly across the planet and can be dangerous to human health. Several regions in the U.S. set all-time temperature records this summer, with Las Vegas hitting a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.9 degrees Celsius) on July 7.
According to the survey, about 1 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had a major impact on their sleep over the past year, while about 3 in 10 say it has had a minor impact and 55% say it has had no impact. Hispanic Americans are more likely than white Americans to say their sleep has been affected, and lower-income Americans are also more likely than higher-income Americans to report an effect on their sleep.
The effects of extreme heat have been most frequently reported in the West and South. About half of people living in the West say their sleep has been affected, at least in a minor way, by extreme heat, while about 4 in 10 people living in the South say their sleep has been affected, compared with about 3 in 10 people living in the Midwest and Northeast. People living in the West and South are also more likely than those in the Northeast to say their exercise routines have been affected.
Other aspects of daily life — such as work and commuting, scheduling events like weddings and meetings, and travel and vacation plans — have been less affected, but their impact is being felt disproportionately among specific groups of Americans. About a quarter of Americans say their travel or vacation plans have been affected by extreme heat, and Hispanic and Black Americans are more likely to say so than white Americans.
Even simply enjoying time outdoors has become more difficult for some people. The survey found that about 6 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has affected outdoor activities for themselves or their family.
Overall, people who don’t believe climate change is happening are less likely to report being affected by various aspects of extreme heat compared to people who do. For example, about 8 in 10 Americans who believe climate change is happening say extreme heat has had at least a minor impact on their electric bills, compared with half of Americans who are not sure climate change is happening or do not believe it is happening.
Mario Cianchetti, 70, is a retired engineer who now lives in Sedona, Arizona. His home has solar panels and heat pumps, which he installed because he was interested in reducing his electric bills to save money. “When you retire, you have one fixed income. I didn’t want to have to deal with rising energy costs,” said Cianchetti, who identified himself as an independent.
Cianchetti noted that temperatures feel unusually warm, but said installing sustainable technologies in his home was a matter of finances. “It's not that I don't believe in climate change, I do believe we're entering a warm cycle here, but I don't think it's man-made.”
When it comes to general views on climate change, 70% of American adults say climate change is happening. About 6 in 10 of those who believe climate change is happening say it is caused entirely or mostly by human activities, while another 3 in 10 say it is caused equally by human activities and natural changes in the environment and 12% believe it is caused mostly by natural environmental changes. Nine in 10 Democrats, 7 in 10 independents and about half of Republicans say climate change is happening.
Those numbers are virtually unchanged since the last time the question was asked in April and have held steady in recent years, though about half of Americans say they have become more concerned about climate change over the past year.
___
The poll was conducted July 25-29, 2024, among 1,143 adults, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
___
O'Malley reported from Philadelphia.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Rules To work with philanthropic organizations, a list of funders and coverage areas funded in AP.org.