Phoenix endures a record 31 straight days above 110 degrees
The desert city baked through an unprecedented streak of extreme heat during the hottest summer on record globally.
Phoenix endured an unprecedented streak of extreme heat this summer, recording 31 consecutive days with temperatures of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit, shattering records and making the desert city a symbol of a scorching season that would prove the hottest ever measured globally.
Day after day, the mercury soared, and overnight temperatures offered little relief, sometimes failing to drop below 90 degrees — a dangerous pattern that denies the body a chance to recover. The relentless heat strained the power grid, pushed emergency rooms to treat a surge of heat-related illnesses, and caused burns from contact with scorching pavement.
The streak was part of a summer of extraordinary heat across the Southwest and much of the world, with records falling across the United States, Europe, Asia and beyond. Scientists confirmed that the months ranked as the hottest in the modern record, and likely in far longer.
Researchers were unequivocal in attributing the severity of the heat to human-caused climate change, which is making such extreme and prolonged events more frequent and more intense. An emerging El Niño added additional warmth on top of the long-term trend.
For Phoenix, among the fastest-warming major cities in the country, the summer was a sobering glimpse of the future. It intensified efforts to protect vulnerable residents, expand shade and cooling, and confront the growing threat that extreme heat poses to life in a warming desert metropolis.