Scorching temperatures in July made it the most popular month in California on record. accordingly national weather dataThe average temperature across the state was 81.7°, nearly two degrees warmer than the previous record set in 2021.
“This is a huge step forward,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “We not only broke the previous record, we practically surpassed it.”
Heat waves persevered throughout much of the state for many of July, with daytime highs rising above triple digits. And, crucially, temperatures remained warm at night as well, raising the typical temperature for the month.
But “people's experiences varied greatly depending on where they lived in California,” Swain said. Inland cities were most affected by warming.
Sacramento and Fresno recorded their highest July temperatures on record, at 81.1° and 90.0°, respectively. Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties deviated greater than 7 degrees from the historical average, with July average temperatures of 76.7°, 78.3° and 76.5°, respectively.
In coastal cities, the temperature increase was less drastic. In San Francisco, the typical temperature in July was 66.6 degrees, about 3 degrees above the historical average, but still the most popular July on record.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been tracking monthly temperatures for greater than 100 years, and California has broken all previous monthly heat records thrice prior to now decade. In the sweltering July of 2018, the typical temperature in California was 79.6°F, which was surpassed in 2021 at 79.8°F. The previous record of 79.5°F was set in 1931.
The temperature rise in July was “remarkable” but not surprising, Swain said.
“Unfortunately, it is entirely in line with expectations that we will experience increasingly hotter summers,” Swain said.
California, like the remaining of the world, is moving toward a hotter climate “in stages,” Swain said. Some years will likely be relatively warmer or cooler than others, so next summer's heat waves could also be less severe. But if the state's current climate trend toward warmer summers continues, a July as hot as this one will likely be “normal, if not rather cool” within the near future, Swain said.
With the unbearable heat in July, the wildfire season began with the worst burning rate in over a decade. As of July 30, over 629,000 acres, nearly a thousand square miles, had burned within the state.
The summer heat follows a wet winter and spring that caused additional grass and shrub growth. Then the scorching temperatures “oven dried” the dense vegetation, which Swain said had a “double effect” on the wildfires. The lack of cooling from the warmth overnight also increases the danger of wildfires.
Fire season often doesn't peak until fall, Swain said. Wildfire activity “may continue to be higher than normal,” although fire locations may shift, Swain said.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com