More Americans are starting to understand the costs of climate change

David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist

More Americans are starting to understand the costs of climate change.

In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, released yesterday, 55 percent of respondents said that climate change had made Hurricanes Irma and Harvey worse. That’s up from the 39 percent who said climate change contributed to Hurricane Katrina when asked 12 years ago.

The 55 percent in the new poll have science on their side. Increased rainfall and higher storm surges — which caused severe damage this month — are two of the clearer effects of climate change. I walked through the evidence in two recent columns, for those who want more detail.

The poll’s partisan breakdown is less encouraging than the headline number. Self-identified Democrats and independents are causing the shift. Among Republicans, 72 percent believe climate change has nothing to do with hurricane damage, virtually unchanged from 12 years ago.

Unfortunately, the damage is likely to keep mounting in coming years. I expect that the connection between climate change and extreme storms will one day be uncontroversial. But there will be a lot of suffering between now and then.