Climate Crisis Deepens as 2025 Ranks as Third-Hottest Year, Americans Remain Divided on Science
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A new poll reveals a stark partisan divide in American attitudes toward science, even as global officials confirm 2025 was Earth’s third-hottest year on record. A report published Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that while a majority of Americans want the U.S. to be a world leader in science, Democrats and Republicans sharply disagree on whether the nation currently holds that position.
Growing Concerns Over U.S. Scientific Standing
Approximately two-thirds of Democrats – 65% – express concern that the U.S. is falling behind other countries in scientific achievement, a important increase of 28 percentage points since 2023. Conversely,Republicans have moved in the opposite direction,with only 32% believing the U.S. is losing ground, a 12-point decrease over the same period. This divergence,the Pew report notes,reflects broader partisan differences in attitudes toward science that have been intensifying for years.
“Partisan differences in trust in scientists and the value of science for society are far wider than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report states. Republicans have demonstrably less confidence in scientists and are less likely to view science as having a positive impact on society, while democratic perspectives have remained largely unchanged.
Political Interference in Scientific research
The shift in attitudes coincides with a period of significant reshaping of federal science policy under the previous administration. This included the elimination of research grants, reductions in science and health workforces, and a deliberate shift in priorities away from climate change research. in a especially concerning move last month, a leading climate and weather research institution, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, was dismantled.
The poll data reveals a clear disparity in trust: 90% of Democrats report having at least a fair amount of confidence in scientists,compared to just 65% of Republicans. This gap has remained consistent in surveys conducted since 2021
Commitments
Despite the escalating crisis, the previous administration withdrew the U.S. from the Paris agreement and afterward withdrew from 66 other international organizations and treaties, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.experts now predict the world will likely breach the Paris agreement’s warming limit before the end of the decade – several years earlier than previously anticipated. A research scientist at Berkeley Earth predicts that 2026 will likely rank among the second to fourth warmest years on record.
“The new data is the latest unequivocal evidence that our climate is in crisis,” said a senior climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “But the previous administration is not simply refusing to face the reality of climate change we are experiencing, it is indeed actively lying about science and undermining our nation’s federal scientific resources.”
Impacts Across the United States
The warming trend is not limited to global averages. The contiguous U.S. experienced its fourth-warmest year on record, according to NOAA’s assessment. Utah and Nevada both recorded their warmest years ever, exceeding 20th-century averages by 4.3 and 3.7 degrees, respectively, while California tied for its fourth-warmest year.
Furthermore, the previous administration discontinued a NOAA database that tracked weather and climate disasters exceeding $1 billion in damages and terminated hundreds of scientists working on the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment, removing the website that housed previous assessments.
The Importance of Global Collaboration
Officials from multiple international groups emphasized the critical need for global cooperation in addressing the climate crisis, noting that warmer temperatures are exacerbating the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like heat waves, wildfires, and floods.
“Collaborative and scientifically rigorous global data collection is more vital than ever before as we need to ensure that Earth details is authoritative, accessible and actionable for all,” said the secretary general of the World Meteorological Association. Another official noted that “data don’t lie,” and that continued measurement is essential. while acknowledging past setbacks,a NOAA administrator has committed to preserving existing data,a move welcomed by international partners. .
