![]() The drops happen from cooler winds coming in, or intense bursts of rain, called monsoons. But then, from one day to the next, the daily high temperatures will drop to the low 100s or even high 90s (32 to 38 degrees Celsius), which, after days of more intense heat, feels kind of breezy. With good reason: most heat-related deaths in Phoenix are not from people in their homes, but rather people outside.īut for most residents, while the summers are brutal, we get into a flow because the weather has a rhythm.įor several days at a time, the temperatures will top 110 degrees, sometimes into the high teens or get to 120 (49 degrees Celsius). Shelters and cooling centers, which are essentially public buildings like libraries kept open for long hours, are all part of attempts to get them off the streets. Homeless people, a population that has been growing, are particularly exposed. While most people figure out ways to cope, some are left behind. ![]() Residents with means take their vacations out of state during the summer, or make weekend trips to Flagstaff, a two-hour drive north where temperatures are about 25 degrees cooler than Phoenix because of the high elevation. People with pools at home take dips early in the morning and at night, as during the day the sun can make the water feel like a jacuzzi. Kids go to trampoline parks, gyms and inside camps. Construction workers do shifts that begin in the middle of the night and finish by the early morning. Biking, hiking, camping and numerous other outdoor activities common during eight months, all but come to a halt. Then the summer comes, and daily life must change drastically. All has been designed in such a way that if feels like one big giant grid. The city and surrounding cities like Mesa, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler - all part of the larger metropolitan area locally referred to as “Valley of the Sun" - are easy to navigate because the land is flat. Sunny, temperatures ranging from 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 29 degrees Celsius) and clear skies. The Arizona desert, filled with giant saguaro cactuses, looming palm trees and menacing terrain, with the powerful sun always beaming above, has a beauty that evokes feelings of freedom and possibility.Įight months a year, Phoenix weather is nothing short of amazing. Many people have a deep desire to be here, which may sound strange to many Americans who know only of the city’s infamous extreme summer heat. cities (it doesn’t exist anymore Phoenix has gotten very expensive). Nor are they just here for cheaper housing compared to other major Western U.S. The throngs that have moved here haven’t just come for the jobs, though booms in tech, higher education and other industries have brought many. “I’m a desert rat,” I’ve heard friends say, and four years in I know what they mean. But when the already extreme becomes super extreme, it provides a window into what could be a scary future. We have seen this play out in weather-related disasters around the globe, and Phoenix is not immune. Census.įor decades, scientists have been warning that the continued burning of fossil fuels would lead to a warming of the planet and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. It also raises questions about the long-term viability of a metropolitan area that was America's fastest growing between 20, according to the U.S. That would be uncharted territory even for a city accustomed to dealing with extreme heat. It's significant because there is no end in sight to the heat - and all of July could see 110-degree temperatures or higher. That isn't just something for the record books, a quirky factoid for weather buffs. Developing countries have long been hit particularly hard by climate change.Įarlier this week, Phoenix broke its own record for a major city with consecutive days over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). I'm leaving a city that is having a major climate change moment during a summer we may remember as an inflection point both in the advancement of global warming and its devastating extreme weather impacts and the developed world's consciousness of what is happening. Working with AP journalists around the globe on climate change stories, as I have for the past year since taking on this role, I recognize the irony.
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