America’s hottest city: Phoenix adapts to life in the heat
Phoenix has always been hot. People survive the heat, if they’re lucky, by adapting.
The Republic
America’s hottest city broke more heat records on Thursday, most notably when temperatures reached 109 degrees for the 56th time this year. The previous record of 55 days was set in 2023.
But that was not the end of the day. The high temperature on Thursday reached 116 degrees, breaking three more records, according to the National Weather Service: The hottest day was September 5, the hottest day in September and the latest date on which 46 degrees was reached.
Thursday’s records were broken as hot weather crept into the West this week, with triple-digit temperatures from Arizona to California.
The summer of 2023 – the hottest summer on record until this year – saw numerous daily highs, reaching as high as 48 degrees and setting a record for most consecutive days above 43 degrees. But 2024 – now the hottest summer on record – was consistently hot overall. The average temperature from June to August was 37.8 degrees, almost 2 degrees higher than last year.
Meanwhile, a record streak of consecutive days with temperatures above 38 degrees also continues: Phoenix has reached 38 degrees for 102 days in a row since Thursday, with no end in sight. The previous record was set in 1993 with 76 days.
“Last year it was hotter day by day, but this year the heat was much more consistent across the region throughout the season,” said Ryan Worley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
Last June was unusually cool, followed by sweltering July and August. But this year June was extremely hot – breaking another record as the hottest June on record – and the heat continued for the rest of the season.
Reason for concern?
Phoenix has always been hot, but the fact that new records are broken every year is a cause for concern among climatologists.
“The things that were rare are becoming less rare,” said Michael Crimmins, a climatologist at the University of Arizona. “(The records) are piling up, and that’s the creeping dirt pile of the climate change story.”
“Even if a record is not reached every summer, but temperatures are many degrees above average, this is only an indication of climate change,” he added.
Worley attributes the unusually high temperatures to climate change and general weather conditions.
An atmospheric high pressure system, sometimes called a heat dome, can sit over the Southwest during the monsoon season. This system traps warm air beneath it, and thin cloud cover offers no relief.
“We’ve just experienced this constant high pressure system that’s kept us hot, so that’s the main story,” Worley said. “And why we’ve experienced these extreme temperatures can also be traced back to why we haven’t had much rainfall in past monsoon seasons.”
Last year’s monsoon was the driest on record, and this year’s is expected to be the eighth driest.
New records throughout the southwest
Heat records were broken across the region as the Southwest experienced one of its hottest summers on record.
“Phoenix was by no means alone this year; there were many record-breaking warm summers across Arizona,” Worley said.
Yuma had the hottest season, averaging 35 degrees, and even upcountry cities that are normally more temperate broke records. Flagstaff averaged 20 degrees, Winslow 27 degrees, and Douglas surpassed previous records set in 2011 and 1994 with 27 degrees.
Death Valley, already considered the hottest place on Earth, got even warmer. It experienced its hottest summer on record with an average temperature of 104.5 degrees, beating the previous records set in 2021 and 2018 at 104.2 degrees.
Desert cities across the region saw their highest temperatures ever recorded this summer, with Palm Springs hitting 50 degrees on July 6 and Las Vegas hitting 49 degrees on July 7.
The records are likely to continue into the fall as climatologists expect an unusually warm season.
“All of our long-term forecasts continue to point to above-average temperatures,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
A week in the heat of Phoenix: Living and dying in America’s hottest city
Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email her story tips to [email protected].
