Climate Action

Summers rising temperatures are not your imagination!

rising-temperatures-in-summer-season

Summers-are-getting-hotter-with-fast-paced-rising-temperatures Image: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Johnny Wood
Writer, Forum Agenda

Summers never used to be this hot, did they? You may have asked yourself that question and wondered whether in fact you’re just getting more sensitive to the heat as you get older. But in fact, Summers are getting hotter and we’re all feeling the effects.

The rising temperatures

The US National Centers for Environmental Information sets ‘normal’ temperatures - currently based on 1981–2010 figures - by working out average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for each area.

Climate Central, a US-based climate change research organization, analysed past temperature records for June, July and August across the United States and compared the number of recorded days above normal maximum temperature in 1970 with the same records for 2017, and found a dramatic increase in temperature in both rural and urban locations.

The analysis showed a rise in above-average temperature days and a drop in below-average temperature days across most of the country. That suggests that the average itself is rising.

rising-temperatures-in-Summers-in-phoenix
Climate-Central-data-for-rising-temperatures Image: Climate Central

Of the 244 areas the study looked at, 92% experienced rising temperatures above the normal temperature days, compared to 1970 figures. The biggest jumps were recorded in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.

Cities like Austin, Texas, experienced over 60 days above normal heat in 2017, compared with below 30 days in 1970. The same trend was seen in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the average virtually doubling from just over 30 days in 1970 to over 60 in recent years. In Miami, Florida, the figure jumped even more dramatically, from under 20 days half a century ago to just under 60 in 2017.

Too much of a good thing

Although holidaymakers and the US tourism industry might welcome a few additional warm summer days, extreme sun and periods of prolonged heat can seriously impact the wellbeing of people, animals and crops.

As wetlands begin to dry, some birds and wildlife are unable to find drinking water. Parched land can also damage agricultural crops and significantly increase the prospect of wildfires.

Intense heat also increases health risks, exposing people to more incidents of heat stroke, respiratory diseases, sunburn and drowsiness. This is particularly true for vulnerable groups like the young, elderly and people with serious medical conditions.

The effects of intense sun is often greater in urban areas, too. As roads, pavements and bricks heat up, air stagnates and cities and towns turn into heat islands surrounded by cooler rural areas.

With rising temperatures electricity bills also peak as people seek the cooling effect of air conditioners, which generate more harmful emissions.

So any short-term benefits that come from more warm weather are likely to be far outweighed by the long-term adverse effects.

The US definitions of ‘normal’ temperature will be updated in a couple of years using data from 1991-2020. We can expect to see ‘normal’ temperatures that are significantly higher than they are now.

Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Climate Crisis

Related topics:
Climate ActionNature and BiodiversityIndustries in Depth
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Climate Crisis is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

These collaborations are already tackling climate-driven health risks but more can be done to find solutions

Fernando J. Gómez and Elia Tziambazis

December 20, 2024

Here's what was agreed at COP16 to combat global desertification

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum