WASHINGTON — Nearly three-quarters of Americans see weather disasters, like Hurricane Dorian, worsening and most of them blame global warming to some extent, a new poll finds.

And scientists say they’re right.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey shows 72% of Americans think catastrophic weather is more severe, while 4% see it as less nasty. About one-quarter say those disasters are about as extreme as they always were.

Half of those who think weather disasters are worsening say it’s mainly because of man-made climate change, with another 37% who think natural randomness and global warming are equally to blame.

The poll of 1,058 adults was conducted in mid-August before Dorian formed and pummeled the Bahamas. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

“We continue to loot our environment and it causes adverse weather,” said John Mohr, a 57-year-old self-described moderate Republican in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was bracing for Dorian’s arrival.

Majorities of adults across demographic groups think weather disasters are getting more severe, the poll says. College-educated Americans are slightly more likely than those without a degree to say so, 79% versus 69%.

Nine in 10 Democrats think weather disasters are more extreme, compared with about half of Republicans.

A recent United Nations report also found that heat waves are happening more, are nastier and last longer, while heavy downpours are increasing globally, said NASA and Columbia University climate scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig.