More Americans Feel Extreme Heat, Fewer Believe in Climate Change

An AP-NORC poll of 1,165 U.S. adults released August 6, 2026 finds 90% say extreme heat has affected their lives, up from 83% two years earlier. Yet belief that climate change is happening fell from 73% in September 2025 to 66%. The divergence between worsening heat exposure and declining climate acceptance complicates efforts to build durable public support for adaptation policy.