Japanese Research Institute Reveals More Than Half of People Surveyed Unprepared for Global Warming

An Internet survey about the effects of global warming, conducted from August 6 to 8, 2013, by the Mizuho Information & Research Institute in Japan, revealed that many people acknowledge the ongoing problem of global warming and its effects but they haven't yet considered how to prepare themselves to deal with it.

About 92% of respondents said that there is no doubt about present global warming from the scientific point of view, and about 73% think that the effects of global warming are already visible, with the most disturbing effects from the global warming, such as localized torrential rain, sea level rise, and impacts on farm products ranked at the top of the list. When asked if they are prepared to deal with these effects, about 61% said they have not thought about it at all or rather have not thought about it much.

Less than 30% thought that sufficient information is being provided about global warming effect, while nearly 90% of respondents said that they wanted to know more about the impacts of global warming. They also said that they obtain information about global warming from TV, newspapers, and the Internet, and that they trusted information most from researchers and weather forecasters.

Only 7% said that they were aware of the release of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The research was targeted nationwide at males and females over 20 years old, and the number of valid responses was 1,085.