These U.S. Cities Are Getting Limited Media Reports on Climate Change
https://climate-crisis-247-bucket.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/07201318/qbtyuqtqj8k-1-150x150.jpgIn recent months, the Trump administration has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and repealed regulations designed to slow the pace of global warming. Echoing a strategy he deployed in his first term, when there was a reported decline of nearly 40% in the use of the term “climate change” across federal websites, President Trump is also limiting access to information related to global warming. During his second term, mentions of climate change have been removed from the websites of multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, State, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a democracy, access to information is a necessary precondition for a well-informed electorate. Critics of President Trump’s approach to climate change argue that the purge pertinent data and analysis from federal webpages could undermine the public’s understanding and response to climate issues.
Federal resources are only a small part of the information landscape, however, and many private-sector media outlets regularly cover climate issues. But a 2024 survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication suggests that access to climate-related news and analysis remains limited. According to the poll, only 28.2% of adults in the United States report hearing about climate change in the media at least once a week. In certain U.S. cities, access to information appears even more limited.
Using data from the YPCCC report Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2024, Climate Crisis 247 identified the U.S. cities where media coverage of climate change is not reaching most people. We ranked all 926 metropolitan and micropolitan areas with available data on the share of the adult population who hear about global warming in the media at least once a week. Only the 20 U.S. cities where the smallest share of the adult population encounter media reports on global warming on a weekly basis rank on this list. Supplemental data on the share of adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S. is also from the YPCC. The YPCCC bears no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations of the data presented here.
Among the cities on this list, the share of adults who report getting media reports on global warming on a weekly basis ranges from 19.4% down to just 17.0%. Limited access to climate news and analysis may have an impact on public perceptions of the threats posed by global warming. According to the same survey, an estimated 65.4% of adults nationwide acknowledge that global warming is likely impacting weather in the United States. In all but two cities on this list, the share of adults who connect global warming with changing weather patterns is below the national average.
20. Greenwood, MS
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.4%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 63.8%
- Adult population: 27,932
19. Dublin, GA
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.4%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 54.5%
- Adult population: 44,822
18. Lumberton, NC
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.3%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 60.1%
- Adult population: 87,022
17. Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.3%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 54.7%
- Adult population: 297,753
16. Jesup, GA
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.2%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 48.4%
- Adult population: 23,096
15. Rockingham, NC
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.2%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 54.3%
- Adult population: 32,706
14. Clarksdale, MS
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.1%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 69.1%
- Adult population: 15,167
13. El Dorado, AR
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 19.0%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 52.6%
- Adult population: 29,169
12. Andrews, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.9%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 50.2%
- Adult population: 12,821
11. Zapata, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.8%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 59.9%
- Adult population: 9,391
10. Forrest City, AR
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.6%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 59.6%
- Adult population: 17,890
9. Orangeburg, SC
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.6%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 65.6%
- Adult population: 65,477
8. Town of Pecos, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.5%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 54.5%
- Adult population: 9,962
7. Blytheville, AR
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.1%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 51.6%
- Adult population: 29,359
6. Hereford, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 18.1%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 50.9%
- Adult population: 12,727
5. Morgan City, LA
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 17.9%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 52.6%
- Adult population: 36,656
4. Dumas, TX
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 17.9%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 49.6%
- Adult population: 14,597
3. Greenville, MS
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 17.2%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 63.6%
- Adult population: 32,550
2. Selma, AL
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 17.2%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 64.0%
- Adult population: 28,598
1. Pine Bluff, AR
- Adults who hear media reports on global warming at least weekly: 17.0%
- Adults who agree global warming is impacting weather in the U.S.: 56.0%
- Adult population: 57,475
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