According to Columbia University’s Earth Institute, recent localized weather seems to have a strong impact on climate change beliefs. Previous studies have suggested that today’s temperature has a bearing on the percentage of people who believe that climate change is happening.

The most recent study from the Earth Institute’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions looked at the thought process behind a belief or disbelief in climate change. What they found was that individuals tend to base their feelings on climate change on the most recent stimuli they have been presented with. That stimuli can include but is not limited to today’s weather.

Research subjects were surveyed after being presented with a variety of information. First they tested to see if the wording of the question had any impact. For example, the survey found no difference between “climate change” and “global warming” when it came to individuals responses. They also found that an understanding of how climate change works had no real impact on survey results.

The next survey provided respondents with information about today’s temperature, followed by a word puzzle that included heat-related terms. That survey showed an increase in the number of people who believe that climate change is occurring. They asked the next group of respondents about yesterday’s temperature and found that it did not have the same impact on individuals beliefs as today’s temperature did. The final group was asked to recount memories of warm weather events and unusually warm days. They found that this group tended to over-estimate the number of really warm days they had experienced.

Lisa Zaval, lead author on the study, told State of the Planet:

“Our data suggest that perceiving today’s local temperature to be colder than usual can lead to decreased belief in and reduced concern about global warming…Strengthening the association between … cold weather, or extreme weather fluctuations, and climate change in people’s minds might be a good step.”

According to National Geographic, the Earth has warmed a total of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880 and NASA says that temperatures could rise by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. Such temperature differences are unlikely to be noticed by individuals on a day to day basis but could have catastrophic effects on the overall environment.

Source: the Earth Institute