Phoenix has broken yet another heat record. Thursday was the 56th day this year with a high temperature above 110 degrees at Sky Harbor International Airport. That breaks the previous record for most 110-degree days set just last year.
On average since the 1990s, Phoenix has had 21 days per year with temperatures at or above 110, according to the National Weather Service. And typically, the latest 110-degree day of the year falls around August 26.
But unseasonably hot temperatures like Phoenix has had this week are becoming more common due to heat-trapping carbon pollution, said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with the climate research group Climate Central.
“While heat domes and heat waves are expected in the summertime, in a world with climate change, they're becoming more intense, they’re becoming more frequent — like we’ve seen time and time again this summer — and they’re also lasting longer,” Winkley told KJZZ News.
Climate Central has a Climate Shift Index tool that compares historical temperature records to measure how much impact climate change is having on current weather events. The heat dome driving scorching temperatures across much of the U.S. West this week ranks on the highest end of the climate shift scale.
“What we know and what scientists can tell us is that that temperature would have been virtually impossible without human induced climate change adding to the heat,” Winkely said.
The temperature in Phoenix could pass 110 degrees again on Friday.
The record for most 110-degree days in a year is just one of several heat records Phoenix has broken this summer. The city already broke the record for most nights with low temperatures in the 90s. And Phoenix remains in its longest-ever consecutive stretch of days with temperatures above 100 degrees. Every day since May 27 has been in the triple digits.
