Saturday’s temperature had triggered an excessive heat warning across Arizona as lows were expected to range between 80F and 86F
On Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service announced that the temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport reached 110F, making it the 54th day this year with temperatures of at least 110F.
Saturday’s temperature breaks the previous record of 53 days that was set in 2020. From 1991 to 2020, the average consecutive days of 110F or above is 21 days, the NWS said.
An excessive heat warning has been issued for south central and south-west Arizona until 8pm on Sunday as weekend highs are expected to range between 108F and 114F. Meanwhile, lows are expected to range between 80F to 86F.
The important question is why put a city there?
Follow-up question: why make that city a car-dependent hellhole of McMansion suburbs larping as a city, seemingly designed to be as energy-intensive as possible?
I’m not arguing for it, but as someone from Florida, I can understand why it’s car-dependent. It is too hot to walk to a bus/tram stop, wait, get on a relatively freezing bus/tram with wet clothes, get off, walk in the sweltering heat, and arrive at your destination drenched in sweat to freeze in a/c again.
For mass transit to work, there would have to be lots of stops very near locations, high frequency of transport vehicles, and the culture would have to be okay with people being sweaty. Maybe people could travel with a change of clothes and a towel, but then locations would need to have changing rooms.
I think Americans are too used to the luxury of not being sweaty, so it would be hard to accept and use a mass transit system in really hot places.
I wonder if covering walking paths with solar panels would help?
Edit: also maybe zoning that allowed things to exist closer together instead of promoting car use
It attracts older folks because dry heat feels good for aches and pains, arthritis, etc.
Yeah summer sucks but the spring, fall, and winter is incredibly mild with many using neither heat nor AC. Arguably heat generation is more wasteful in places with even moderate to harsh winters.
Phoenix sprung up because it’s actually a pretty stable location. No wild fires. No earthquakes. No tornados, hurricanes, etc. Good hub to the east / west, too.
Fyi, in Phx you’re using AC in Fall and Spring too. Quite common to hit 100F at some point in April and in October. It’s so sprawling too all the asphalt and concrete turn the “heat island” effect into something more like a “heat continent”
If you like mosquitos in the desert that are only there because idiots have grass lawns that they dump water into, it’s great.
