Public Knowledge and Perception of Climate Change and Global Warming in the Context of Environmental Challenges and Policies in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The adverse impacts of climate change have been experienced across the world including the Dammam City in Saudi Arabia. While there are many efforts targeted to fight climate change, their success is dependent on the public having sufficient knowledge about the issue. Hence, the fight against climate change urgently requires an increase in public awareness for effective mitigation measures. Thus, this study seeks to identify level of knowledge and awareness of the people of Dammam about climate changes, causes and impacts on humanity. The study involved 310 respondents who are residents of Dammam and gave their responses by completing an online questionnaire. The findings revealed that 90% of the respondents were aware of the contemporary climate change problem and they had acquired that knowledge from conventional sources like social media and 67% were very worried about the impacts of climate change. The results also showed that 33% had no awareness knowledge at all about the causes of climate change and its impacts. The study concluded that slightly above quarter of the respondents have good knowledge, understanding, and awareness of climate changes. The study recommends more efforts to be directed toward expanding public knowledge on climate change.

Climate change-related knowledge and attitudes among a sample of the general population in Egypt

“…These results were based on similar studies conducted in other countries, which revealed that more than 80% of the respondents were aware of the problem of CC and its consequences ( 17 , 23 ). However, the research results contrast with studies conducted in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Kenya, which revealed a low level of knowledge about CC among participants ( 24 – 26 ). Notably, more than 75% of the participants were university graduates, with more than two-thirds of them having a field of study or occupation related to natural sciences, which have a significant association with high knowledge scores ( 27 ).…”

“…Only 7% of the voters chose an act of God. These findings are consistent with the results of studies conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Oman ( 24 , 30 , 31 ). However, in a study conducted in Ghana, more than one-third of the respondents stated that deforestation is the primary cause of CC; interestingly, a small percentages of participants referred to carbon emissions as the cause of CC, with nearly similar votes given to an act of God ( 23 ).…”

effect of training program on improving awareness regarding climate change-related disasters among hospitalized patients undergoing surgical procedure

“…According to the researchers, it validated the implementation of the training program's efficacy and success. These results were marginally comparable to those of Almulhim A., (2021), who carried out research to determine the degree of knowledge of climate change, its causes, and its effects among residents of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The study conducted by Almulhim et al (2021) revealed that a third of the participants exhibited an inadequate understanding of climate change.…”

Understanding Household Water-Use Behavior and Consumption Patterns during COVID-19 Lockdown in Saudi Arabia

“…This method was preferred since online surveys are quicker, more economical, and anonymous [51]. Snowball sampling method was used to distribute the survey link by email, where the participants shared the link with others in the area through email and WhatsApp groups [52][53][54]. The number of participants reached 810 at the end of three months.…”

“…The snowball sampling method allows studying a society anonymously when the response rate is high [54]. The online survey helped reach a maximum number of participants since distributing the survey to the public, especially female participants, would have been difficult [52,53].…”