Are officials really calling five months of ten-twenty degrees higher than average temperatures a “heat wave?” Yes, they are.

Perhaps because society may not react well to terms like “ball buster southwest summers,” or “THERE’S NO ESCAPING THE NEW NORM,” or “global boiling” or heaven forbid any news anchor say “climate change.”

Many people’s responses to the southwest’s heat wave this year was: “Well maybe you shouldn’t live in the desert.”

Nothing irritates me more. There’s a difference between hot and unlivable. Throughout human history, the southwest has been hot. But Page, Arizona consistently experienced temperatures 10-20 degrees higher than the historical average (recorded since the 1930’s) making it unlivable without air conditioning. Staying inside for up to thirteen hours a day- who wants to live like that?

Page, Arizona

May

• Historical average maximum temperature: 70.95 F
• 2024 average maximum temperature: 82.26 F
• Highest temp in May 2024: 94 F

June

• Historical average maximum temperature: 86.31 F
• 2024 average maximum temperature: 98.27 F
• Highest temp in June 2024: 105 F

July:

• Historical average maximum temperature: 90.43 F
• 2024 average maximum temperature: 102.65 F
• Highest temp in July 2024: 108 F

August:

• Historical average maximum temperature: 84.22
• 2024 average maximum temperature: 95.65
• Highest temp in August 2024: 106 F

September (so far):

• Historical average maximum temperature: 81.61 F
• 2024 average maximum temperature: 93.44
• Highest temp in September 2024: 98 F

All data from Weather Underground.

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Phoenix, Arizona

Don’t even get me started on Phoenix.

Okay, I’m going there.

Did you know that heat kills more people each year than any other type of extreme weather, including flooding and tornadoes?

According to Fox Weather, Maricopa County health officials have confirmed 144 heat-caused fatalities and another 112 people where heat contributed to their death.

In 2024, Phoenix broke over a dozen all-time heat records, including an 113-day streak!!!!! of temperatures reaching 100 degrees or higher.

Between June 1 and July 11, Phoenix had 16 nights with lows above 90°F, more than double the previous record of seven nights in 2021.

Phoenix had 61 days in 2024 with temperatures at or above 110°F, compared to 55 in 2023.

Records We Don’t Want to Be Breaking

• June 2024 was the hottest June ever in Las Vegas, with triple-digit temperatures recorded nearly every day.
• A heat wave in July 2024 brought temperatures in Phoenix to 118, afternoon highs in Las Vegas to 120, and peak temperatures in Palm Springs to 124 degrees F.
• In June 2024, Las Vegas set a new temperature record, with an average temperature of 94.6 degrees, which was 7 degrees above normal
• According to NASA, summer heat waves in the United States have roughly doubled in number between 1980 and 2023
• More than 2 billion people – 25% of the global population – experienced 30 or more days of “risky” heat according to The Weather Chanel
• The report says that during June, July and August, 50% of the world’s population experienced unusually hot temperatures

Sooooo…what the fuck should we do?

Give up hope? No.

Make jokes about this being “the coolest summer of our lives?” Not helpful.

Let’s plant some goddamn trees. Got land? Plant a tree.

Going somewhere less than a mile? Walk or ride a bike!

Write letters, email, or call your local representatives to express your concerns about heat waves and request action on climate change mitigation strategies such as:

• Request your cities to invest in more urban green spaces and plant more trees
• Request city officials to paint that asphalt white! Learn about how that can cool temperatures here.
• Request infrastructure changes such as investing in cool roofs, community cooling centers, etc.