Phoenix Sets a New Heat Record

Phoenix has set a new heat record with 144 consecutive days with a high temperature of 100°F or greater. Today Phoenix reached 100°F at 2:37 PM and officially beat the previous record of 143 days set in 1989. This is not a good record.

According to the National Weather Service, Phoenix began keeping daily temperature records in 1896. The average temperature has increased by 4.35 degrees since 1970 and this autumn has failed to significantly cool down. 2020 has become the state’s hottest summer and one of the driest monsoon seasons on record.

Persistent high pressure over the region is behind the inordinately hot weather that has plagued the state and caused extended summer temperatures. A weak monsoon season didn’t help either.

Human-caused climate change and the urban heat island effect contribute to 2020’s heat record as well.

Concrete and asphalt absorb the sunlight during the day and radiate the heat throughout the night in the Phoenix metro area, exacerbating already rising temperatures due to climate change.