Local warming is real: A meta-analysis of the effect of recent temperature on climate change beliefs

Climate change is a complex phenomenon that the public learns about both abstractly through media and education, concretely personal experiences. While beliefs global warming may be controversial in some circles, an emerging body of research on ‘local warming’ effect suggests people’s judgments climate or are impacted by recent, local temperatures. A meta-analysis including 31 observations across 82 952 participants derived from 17 papers published since 2006 found small but significant overall: 1°C increase temperature increases worry 1.2%. Moderation analysis larger effects for temperatures over longer time frames smaller behaviors versus beliefs. We also review conceptually related due to other extreme weather events, as well