VOA News | Wednesday, September 4, 2024 
Phoenix weathers 100 days of 100-plus degree temps as heat scorches western US

Cam Ferguson gets to his spot on the street adjacent to Chase Field — home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks — about four hours before first pitch to set up his usual display of cold water, sports drinks, peanuts and candy. By game time, it’s about 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on this Labor Day afternoon in downtown Phoenix. Business is brisk. “Two for five, but it’s eight inside!” shouts another vendor, selling water bottles. “Plus, they’re having some problems with the air conditioning in there.” It’s always hot this time of year in central Arizona, but 2024 is proving to be an endless summer with especially high temperatures in Phoenix. On Tuesday, the city hit its 100th straight day with at least 100-degree temperatures. That’s long since shattered the record of 76 days in a row set back in 1993, according to data from the National Weather Service. “That is definitely an eye-catching number,” NWS meteorologist Sean Benedict said. Scientists say climate change caused by human activities is dialing up the thermostat around the world and increasing the odds of dangerous temperatures. That is because the driver of global warming — the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fuels like oil, gas and coal — continues all but unabated. Extreme weather events like heat waves, wildfires, intense storms and prolonged droughts will continue, according to researchers. The temperature hit 102 F (38.9 C) in Phoenix on May 27 and has made it to triple digits every day since. Benedict said that long streaks of desert heat usually are…Read more