Americans who live in cold places 'less likely to believe in global warming'

As many as one in four in the US do not believe that global warming is real

The sun rises over Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire. File photo (Getty Images)

Americans who live in cold places are less likely to think global warming is real, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at US beliefs about climate change on a county-by-county basis, and compared them to the frequency of residents' exposure to record highs and lows, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Those who experienced more record highs were more likely to believe the Earth was warming.

"Conversely, Americans who live in areas that have experienced record low temperatures, such as southern portions of Ohio and the Mississippi River basins, are more skeptical that the Earth is warming," said the report.

Many people confuse climate, which reflects long-term trends over decades, with weather, which happens over hours, days or seasons.

"One of the greatest challenges to communicating scientific findings about climate change is the cognitive disconnect between local and global events," said co-author Michael Mann, associate professor of geography at George Washington University.

"It is easy to assume that what you experience at home must be happening elsewhere."

In the United States, as many as one in four do not believe that global warming is real or that humans' fossil fuel use is contributing to climate change.

According to Gallup poll data, the US public was also split over whether 2015's record high temperatures in the modern era were caused by global warming or natural variations.

"Who do Americans trust about climate change; scientists or themselves?" said lead author Robert Kaufmann, professor in the department of geography at Boston University.

"For many Americans, the answer seems to be themselves."

In December, President-elect Donald Trump said “nobody really knows” whether climate change is real and that he is “studying” whether the US should withdraw from the Paris global warming agreement.

During the presidential campaign, Mr Trump referred to climate change as a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese, a comment he later described as a joke.