Poll: Americans Say Global Warming Is Exaggerated

Chart Credit: Gallup

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Even as most Americans report experiencing abnormal weather conditions lately, more than four in 10 say the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated in the news, according to a recent Gallup poll. These sentiments are lower than the record 48% who believed this four years ago, but higher than any year before Barack Obama became president.

Though the largest share of Americans specifically describe reports on the seriousness of global warming as exaggerated, a slim majority collectively see these reports as generally correct (23%) or generally underestimated (33%). On this basis, most Americans seem to accept that global warming is at least as serious a problem as news reports say it is. Viewed still another way, fully three-quarters of the country believe that reports about global warming are mistaken -- for better or worse.

SOURCE: Gallup