More than 40% of Californians say they were affected by recent extreme weather, poll finds

After two years of severe drought, record winter rains and now sweltering heat, more than four in ten Californians reported being personally affected by an extreme weather event in the last two years, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found.

The survey released Thursday showed that nearly 80% of adults think climate change is contributing to extreme weather in the state and 82% consider the climate a top or near-top concern.

“Some of you may be experiencing extreme weather today,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC survey director in a presentation. “It’s something we have all become very familiar with. Three quarters of Californians are tying these weather events to climate change, so this has brought it home to many.”

The words ‘weather whiplash’ have become a common refrain in California, a state long known for climate extremes. But 77% of surveyed adults say warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels is contributing to weather extremes.

An overwhelming majority said climate change was affecting their local community, with drought and wildfires named most frequently. On policy, the vast majority of Californians support the state’s goal of net zero greenhouse emissions no later than 2045.

Most residents surveyed approve of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of the crisis. The governor has held majority approval on his approach to the environment since 2020, the PPIC reported.

But when it comes to approval of state and federal leadership, residents are less confident in government’s readiness to respond to the crisis. It should also come as no surprise that responses are divided across party and geography.

Overall, 19% said they have a “great deal” of confidence and 56% reported having “only some” confidence in state and federal government response.

As in past years, a strong majority (58%) approve of Gov. Newsom’s environmental approach. His approval rates are far higher in coastal areas than the state’s inland.

After federal climate spending through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a lower 47% said they approve of President Biden’s handling of climate. It marks a 14% drop from 2021, but Biden’s approval reached 63% on the coast.

Half of all surveyed adults said they have seriously considered an electric vehicle for their next car, although most Republicans have not.

A majority of Californians in the poll said they support the goal of having two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the US be electric. Fewer favored Newsom’s ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

Consistent with PPIC findings since 2015, most adults (66%) are opposed to allowing more oil drilling off the California coast and overwhelming majorities (83%) are in favor of offshore wind power development.

The surveyed polled 1,700 adult California residents in June, and PPIC reported the sampling error at 3.1 percentage points.

This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 12:34 PM.