Warmer on 'climate change' than 'global warming'

William JordanUS Elections Editor
April 02, 2013, 11:24 PM GMT+0

After another long and cold winter Britons are more more persuaded by the concept of 'climate change' than 'global warming'

In the Climate Change debate, as with so many others, terminology is key. When asked whether "the world is becoming warmer as a result of human activity", 39% of the UK population agrees, down from 43% in June 2012, and 55% in 2008.

However, when asked whether "the world's climate is changing as a result of human activity", 53% of the population agrees.

The shift in public support away from the idea that Earth is getting "warmer" however, is most likely explained (as some recent studies have suggested) by the current neverending winter.

Clear majorities of Brits believe that weather today is colder, wetter, more extreme and less predictable than it has been in decades past: 61% think the weather has gotten colder and more extreme, 69% say it's gotten less predictable, and nearly three quarters (71%) of the British public think weather in the UK has gotten wetter.