Phoenix sees 100 days of 100-plus degree temps as record heat wave scorches residents
Phoenix is in the grip of a months-long heat wave, fueled by climate change
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Your support makes all the difference.America’s hottest city is enduring yet another week of life-threatening heat with Phoenix, Arizona hitting its 100th straight day of at least 100 degree temperatures on Tuesday.
And there’s no relief on the horizon - from Wednesday through Friday, temperatures are expected to reach into the 110Fs and cool only by a couple of degrees over the weekend and into next week. An excessive heat warning is in place for Wednesday morning for the area.
This year was the city’s hottest summer on record, according to AZFamily. It was also Phoenix’s hottest summer in more than a decade.
Scientists say that the climate crisis is making heat waves more severe and last longer over larger areas.
The Phoenix heat stretch was four to five times more likely to occur due to the effects of human-caused climate change, according to nonprofit Climate Central. Globally, this year is expected to surpass 2023 as the hottest year on record.
The searing temperatures had led to widespread concerns for public safety.
With elementary and high school students returning to classrooms this week, the Arizona Interscholastic Association has required that sports teams move practice times if there is extreme heat between 10am and 5pm.
Last week, the Phoenix Fire Department was forced to rescue a hiker from Camelback Mountain and warned those hitting the trails be prepared with sufficient water, and do so in the cooler, early hours of the day.
Although high temperatures are common in the Southwest in summer, 100 days in a row above 100 degrees Fahrenheit shattered a record that Phoenix set in 1993, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 76 consecutive days.
The triple-digit streak has been ongoing since late May, when the high temperature first hit 102F. Low temperatures in Phoenix this week were still in the high 80s.
The monsoon season, which usually offers relief in the state, started in June and typically runs through this month. However monsoon rainfall has varied across the state, and brought deadly flash flooding to the Grand Canyon.
Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport received at least an inch less of rain than expected, according to The Arizona Republic. On Tuesday, the high temperature at the transit hub was 108 degrees, four degrees above normal.
Throughout the stifling conditions, residents have advised to remain indoors and stay hydrated with the city also asking them to conserve water. “Phoenix faces unique water challenges due to our desert location and it takes all of us to build a Culture of Conservation,” the city wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
Health authorities in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, reported 177 confirmed heat-related deaths this year. Last year, there were 645 heat-related deaths with nearly two-thirds in people aged 50 and up.
The county’s public health department said 45 percent of deaths were among people experiencing homelessness. In late July, Phoenix Mayor Katie Gallego said the city’s parks would get new, temporary shade structures in summer 2025. Last month, more than 14,000 visits had been logged at five overnight heat respite locations, she added.
Gallego, a Democrat, has credited the Biden-Harris administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for providing resources to address climate-related issues.
With reporting by The Associated Press
The Independent will be revealing its Climate100 List in September and hosting an event in New York, which can be attended online.