Arizona breaks summer temperature record

This summer was the hottest on record in Arizona with an average daily temperature of 99 degrees, two degrees hotter than last year. The average was taken over June, July and August, which is known as the meteorological summer. Meteorological seasons follow the annual temperature cycle rather than the Earth’s position around the sun.

The 99-degree average is not the only climate record broken in Arizona. The state has also seen the most consecutive days with a high above 100 degrees with more than 100 days of heat. The old record of 78 days will keep being broken as this heat will continue for the foreseeable future.

Randy Cerveny, a Climatologist at Arizona State University, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the rising temperatures.

“We’re going to be saying that for the next few weeks, a new record-setting day. We’re going to still be 100 for at least next week or the next week or two. So, if you enjoy breaking records we are going to keep on breaking records,” Cerveny said.

According to Cerveny, this wasn’t expected.

“I really did not anticipate this being this bad. Really what this is a sign of is that our climate is changing,” Cerveny said.

“This climate is nothing like we have seen in decades, and it isn’t just the growth of the cities. It is the change fundamental in climate. We are seeing this happen not just in Phoenix, but in surrounding areas, all over Arizona,” Cerveny said.

Climatologists also note the summer monsoons this year do not provide as much relief from the heat as in years past.

“We’ve had a few monsoon thunderstorms, but they haven’t been the drenching storms we’ve had in the past where we get this big flood of water that knocks down the temperature for the next day. What we are thinking is that those will continue, unfortunately. We will not have those cooling temperatures,” Cerveny said.

Experts urge people to find as much relief from the heat as possible, including staying cool and hydrating as much as possible.