Record 66% of US Democrats Worried About Global Warming

The number of Democrats in the United States concerned about global warming has surged to 66 percent in 2017, up nine percent from the previous year, a new poll out Friday has found.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Gallup's annual poll indicated that independents were similarly worried about the issue, with 45 percent saying they worried a great deal, up 11 points from 2016.

Their concerns have driven the overall percentage of global warming-wary US nationals to a record 45 percent in almost three decades, the pollster indicated, while Republicans remained unfazed.

The survey shows only 18 percent of Republicans said they were worried about climate change, the same number as last year, showing a widening gap between the two key parties.

This comes after US President Donald Trump described man-made global warming as a Chinese "hoax". On Wednesday, he announced a midterm review of Barack Obama’s rules that would cut greenhouse gas emissions.