Climate Impact Report – 8/1

Key Facts Of The Day 8/1

Hurricanes

• Rounds of storms will repeatedly hit areas across the Plains and Mississippi Valley this week, with severe weather and flash flooding possible.
  • The Central states will be split into two parts, with one zone remaining dry and hot, while the other zone stays somewhat cooler and stormy.
  • On Tuesday, the risk of severe thunderstorms will stretch from eastern Wyoming to northeastern Colorado, Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, southwestern Iowa, and Missouri.
  • Farther to the north, another zone of severe thunderstorms will likely erupt from northeastern Montana to southern Manitoba, much of North Dakota, northern South Dakota, and central and northern Minnesota.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, 56 large active wildfires have burned 339,359 acres across AK, AZ, CA, ID, MT, NM, OR, TX, UT, WA, and WY. This year to date, 30,466 wildfires have burned 1,174,562 acres across the country.
• In Arizona, 13 fires have burned 33,907 acres as of Tuesday.
• In California, 5 fires have burned 80,677 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The York Fire burned 77,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Tuesday.
    • The blaze began on Friday on private land in the New York Mountain Range of the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, and by Sunday, the flames crossed into Nevada.
    • On Sunday, firefighters witnessed spinning columns of fire known as fire whirls, which form when extreme heat and strong winds combine.
    • Hazardous fire conditions also prompted road closures and pushed smoke across state lines into Nevada and even southern Utah.
• In New Mexico, 12 fires have burned 93,107 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Texas, 2 fires have burned 1,376 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Washington, 1 fire has burned 15,349 acres as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• Phoenix, Arizona,  just recorded its hottest month and the hottest month ever observed in a U.S. city.
  • Phoenix’s average temperature for July was 102.7 degrees, taking into account an average daytime high of 114.7 degrees and overnight low of 90.8.
  • On Monday, Phoenix ended its record-shattering streak of 31 straight days at or above 110 degrees.
    • Twelve days set daily record high temperatures, including July 19, 20, and 25, when the temperature reached 119 degrees.
    •  July 19 became Phoenix’s hottest calendar day ever recorded, with a high of 119 degrees and a low of 97.
  • Phoenix had 17 days that hit 115 degrees or greater in July.
  • Phoenix didn’t fall below 90 degrees for 16 days straight.
• Heatwaves that have scorched much of the U.S. could result in a record number of heat-related deaths this year amid a spike in hospitalizations from collapsing workers.
  • In the week ending 22 July, a group of western states, including Arizona, California, and Nevada, had a rate of heat-related hospitalizations 51% above the average since 2018, while southern states, including Texas and Louisiana, had a 37% spike.
• As the U.S. faces record-breaking heat waves, public housing residents struggle to get air conditioning.
  • Those who live in public housing are especially vulnerable to the heat — they’re not just low-income but also disproportionately older, people of color, chronically ill, and often living in hotter neighborhoods that lack shade from tree cover.
• You-pick farms struggle through heat, drought, and haze as customers cancel picking appointments, and crops across Iowa do not grow.

New Reports and Data

• A July 2023 survey found that  72% of non-college-educated people surveyed approved of major federal investments in clean energy and clean manufacturing.
• A July 2023 study found that heat waves, cold snaps, and high levels of fine particulate pollution could raise heart attack risk.