How Phoenix is preparing for 100-degree nights

By Ari Phillips | Thinking Progress

“Phoenix is already hot, and it’s getting hotter,” Mayor of Phoenix Greg Stanton said at panel held at the Center For American Progress (CAP) today. “We’ve had more extreme heat and longer periods of heat — each year it seems like we get a report that it was the hottest summer on record.”

Stanton speaks the truth. The city averages more than 100 days a year with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees. In 2013, 115 days hit 100 degrees. In 2011, the city set a new record for days over 110 degrees with 33. That’s over one month of the year with scorching highs. This winter has so far been warmer than average.

Stanton said that climate change is happening now and it’s real. While he sounded convincing in his assessment that Phoenix is ready to confront the challenges it poses, he may have downplayed the magnitude of the task, even in saying it will “have a huge impact on how we plan for the future of the city.”

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