In 2006, the Pew Global Attitudes Survey found that large majorities of respondents from
developed countries had heard of global warming, while awareness remained quite low in several
developing countries (Figure 1). In particular, large majorities of respondents had never heard of
global warming in Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Egypt. These results suggest that many,
especially in the Muslim world, have never heard of global warming. If borne out by further
research, this lack of basic awareness of the problem has many important implications, ranging
from the lack of political pressure on local and national governments to act, to potentially greater
long-term vulnerability as individuals and communities make decisions regarding urban and
coastal development, agricultural and subsistence practices, water management, etc. At the same
time, however, people in some developing countries may have observed, attempted to explain,
and adapt to changes in their local climate, albeit without the conceptual framework and findings
of climate change science