If you think the weather has been hotter, it’s because it has.
The month of July was the hottest July on record in Southern California according to the latest report.
And there have been more hot spells to hit areas that don’t get that many hot spells, in such places as Seattle and in Anchorage Alaska where they had their first 90 degree day since records started being kept.
We’ve seen the news video of record heat this summer in other cities in the U.S. and in some cities around the world. It was just days ago we saw the pictures this summer from Paris of people at the Eiffel Tower splashing in the fountains and ponds trying to keep cool.
So last week’s report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should not have been a surprise.
The report said that worldwide, the month of July was 1.71 degrees warmer than average. The report saying the record-setting July followed the hottest June on record, when the average worldwide temperature was .71 degrees above the average.
Now one degree may not sound like much but climate experts and scientists say it’s part of a trend they call troubling, noting that last month was the 43rd July in a row — and the 415th consecutive overall month — with temperatures worldwide above the 20th century average.
And they say that even with the typical fluctuations in weather from year to year, the trend over the last 40 years and even longer shows temperatures increasing. And so likely will the efforts to figure out the best ways to do something about it.
(Photo credit Getty Images)