The Influence of an Extreme Warm Spell on Public Support for Government Involvement in Climate Change Adaptation

An emerging literature discusses the effects of short-term temperature fluctuations on public opinion toward climate change. Yet, prior literature has not explored potential opinion-influencing effects of temporal patterns of temperature fluctuations or the interdependence between temperature anomalies and the direction and magnitude of short-term trends. This study uses an extreme warm spell that occurred during a survey of Michigan residents to evaluate the influence of complex temperature effects on public support for government involvement in the agricultural sector's adaptation to climate change. Comparison of several alternatives for capturing the influence of temperature fluctuations on survey responses (some drawn from the literature, some newly constructed) shows a temporary increase in support for government assistance for adaptation after the onset of a warm spell, but a longer exposure to extreme temperatures does not necessarily lead to more support for adaptation policies. Conditional on oth...