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Phoenix breaks March heat record as temperature soars to 99 degrees
Record-breaking warmth in Phoenix signals climate change concerns
It may have been the first day of spring just days ago, but it already feels like summer in Arizona. On Tuesday, the temperature in Phoenix soared to 99 degrees, an increase from Monday's 96 degrees. Had it been just one degree higher, it would have been the earliest triple-digit temperature ever recorded in Phoenix.
Phoenix breaks heat record for a consecutive day with temperature soaring to nearly 100 degrees
The earliest 100-degree day recorded was on March 26, 1988. On average, the first day to reach 100 degrees in Phoenix is May 2. With March 25's 99 degrees, the city broke the same-day record of 96 degrees, which was set in 2022.
According to 12News Meteorologist Chris Dunn, Phoenix has seen a constant rise in record highs since 2021. Last year, the city saw 29 heat records either tied or broken. Shockingly, there have been zero cold records broken or tied in the Arizonan city.
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Dunn further found that there were 149 heat records broken or tied in Phoenix since 2017, with an average of 18 records per year. “Just a sign of how our climate is changing and getting warmer and warmer,” the meteorologist added.
Highlighting the alarmingly hot temperatures in the month of March, Alicia Ryan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, said, “Just two-ish weeks ago, we had system after system bringing colder temperatures.”
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“Since we’re coming out of that cooler, wetter period, we didn’t really get a good transition period for people to get acclimated,” Ryan added, per New York Times. However, residents may get some respite starting Friday, with temperatures expected to return to the normal range of low to middle 80s, per KTAR News.
