Many Americans see hint of apocalypse in extreme weather

14 December 2012 - 11:56 By Sapa-AFP
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A clock. File photo.
A clock. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

A third of Americans believe the intensity of recent natural disasters is linked to the Apocalypse described in the New Testament, according to a poll.

Many more blame global warming, the survey added.

Seeking to explain floods and heat or cold waves, 36% of those surveyed, and 66% of Evangelical Christians, evoke the end of the world, said the poll by the Public Religion Research Institute/Religion News Service.

But 63% of those polled blame climate change, and 67 percent say the US government should do more to address this problem.

Some 15% of those polled believe the world will end during their lifetime, and 2% say it will happen on December 21 of this year as some believe was predicted by the Mayan calendar.

A total of 1,018 adults took part in the poll, which was carried out between December 5 and 9 and had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

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