The newest Utah Political Trends survey asked Utahns about changing weather patterns in the state and whether those changes are due to human-caused climate change, or just normal year-to-year variations in weather patterns.
In the newest portion of our monthly poll from UtahPolicy.com and Y2 Analytics, we began by asking Utahns to think about the weather during this past winter and if the temperatures were colder than usual, warmer than usual, or about the same. The results were almost evenly divided among the three choices.
- 33% said it was colder than usual
- 40% said it was about the same
- 27% said it was warmer than usual.
In fact, Utah saw below-average temperatures from January to March of 2019 according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. However, it was one of the wettest winters on record for Utah.
We then asked those Utahns who thought the temperature from the last year if they believed the colder/warmer temperatures from the past winter were the result of human-caused climate change, or just normal year-to-year changes in temperature. More than half (55%) said it was the result of climate change due to human activity, while just 45% said it was due to normal temperature changes.
There is a sharp difference of opinions about the cause of the temperature changes among partisans in the state, with Utah Republicans believing that temperature fluctuations are simply normal weather patterns, while independents and Democrats overwhelmingly of the mind that they are the result of the effects of human activity on the climate. For example, 92% of “strong” Republicans attribute the temperature changes to normal weather patterns while the same percentage of “strong” Democrats hold the opposite opinion.
97% of or more of climate scientists agree that rising temperatures over the past century are extremely likely due to human activity.
Now, what about those who said the temperatures this last year were about the same? We asked those respondents whether they felt there have been changes to the normal weather patterns in the past where they live. 57% said the normal weather has been disrupted in the past, while 43% disagreed.
Of those who said there have been historical changes to the weather patterns where they live, just over half blamed the effects of human activity on the climate.
Again we see a very distinct division betwen Republicans, Democrats and independent voters, with just 11% of solid Republicans and about a third of the other Republican groups believing the cause is human caused climate change. Again, Democrats overwhelmingly said changes in weather patterns are caused by human impacts on the environment. Independents are evenly divided on the cause.
The Utah Political Trends Panel was conducted among a random sample of 2,608 registered Utah voters using an online survey. The results were weighted to reflect Utah’s demographic makeup. The survey has a margin of error +/- 2.1%. You can read more about the survey’s methodology here.
