Africa has begun experiencing frequent extreme weather events. Extreme weather is defined as the kind of heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods that have historically been rare occurrences for the place and time, and which pose a danger to large numbers of people and the economy. Marina Joubert researches how the public connects with science. She was part of a multidisciplinary team who investigated how people in 68 countries understand the connection of extreme weather with climate change.
Do people believe that extreme weather is caused by climate change?
We conducted this research because extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Yet we have minimal information about how these events influence people’s views on climate change and their support for climate change policies.
