Phoenix set another heat record this year with 110 degrees for 54 days

PHOENIX (AP) — How hot is it in Phoenix? In what was the hottest summer ever recordedthe sizzling city in the Sonoran Desert, broke another record on Saturday as temperatures topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius).

It was the 54th day this year that the official reading at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport made a statement, eclipsing the previous record of 53 days from 2020.

Matt Salerno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the heat wave could last 55 days.

“We have one more day,” he said.

An extreme heat warning remained in effect. Temperatures were forecast to reach 43.9°C (111°F) on Sunday and 41.1°C (106°F) on Monday.

Salerno said Phoenix experienced its hottest three months since records began in 1895, including the hottest July and the second warmest August.

The daily average temperature of 97 F (36.1 C) in June, July and August exceeded the record of 96.7 F (35.9 C) set three years ago.

The average daily temperature in July was 102.7 F (39.3 C), Salerno said, and the daily average in August was 98.8 F (37.1 C).

Phoenix also set a record in July 31 day series Highs at or above 110 F (43.3 C). The previous record of 18 consecutive days was set in 1974.

The humid summer of 2023 has one historic heat wave It stretches from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona to the California desert.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, last month was the hottest August on record worldwide. It was also the second hottest month recorded, only behind July 2023. Scientists blame it Man-made climate change with an additional boost of a natural El NinoThis is a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that is changing the weather around the globe.

Salerno said Phoenix has counted 104 days with temperatures above 100 F (37.7 C) this year as of Saturday. That corresponds to the average of 111 three-digit days per year between 1991 and 2020.

Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the most populous county in Arizona, also appears directed on track to set an annual record for heat-related deaths.

County health department officials have confirmed this 194 heat-related deaths this year from September 2nd. A further 351 cases are currently being investigated.

Maricopa County confirmed 425 heat-related deaths in 2022.