ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the impact of climate extreme events such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods and heatwaves on the culture of democracy; social norms and beliefs. Research has shown that climate extremes tend to make people on general more concerned about climate change and willing to accept climate policies; however, the understanding of climate extreme events differs between different groups in society. In deeply polarized societies, groups with different ideological identities tend to make different judgments. It is common that affected individuals seek to blame a tangible agent for extreme events such as a group or a person. Political forces have also attempted to present alternative explanations for climate extreme events such as poor forest management and arson. Thereby, climate extreme events can divide societies, rather than bring them together.
