The results of Nielsen’s worldwide poll of Internet users have revealed that while economic concerns have apparently overshadowed the concern over climate change in developed countries, people in the developing countries are becoming increasingly concerned about global warming.

The Nielsen global study of online consumers comes at a time when the role of global warming is being debated by scientists as well as politicians, especially in the wake of the severe Hurricane Irene that lashed the American east coast over the weekend.

Going by the findings of the information consultancy, global statistics show that the US has witnessed one of the steepest declines in concern about global warming; with less than 50 percent of the American survey participants having shown any concern about climate change, and only about 58 percent of Brits fretting about it.

In comparison, a whopping 90 percent of the Latin Americans polled said that they were concerned about global warming – the figures marking an increase from 85 percent in 2009. In addition, 93 percent of the Thais expressed similar concerns about climate change; and the concern in China and Russia also exceeded that in the UK.

Noting that “focus on immediate worries such as job security, local school quality, crime and economic well-being have all diminished media attention for climate stories in the past two years,” Dr Maxwell T. Boykoff – senior visiting research associate from Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute – said: “In the face of other pressing concerns, a public ‘caring capacity’ for climate change has been tested.”