New England Is Burning Up

As Democratic presidential candidates continue to debate endlessly whether or not the threat of climate change is worth potentially losing a few voters, there’s this news out of New England: Boston, Hartford, CT, Portland, ME, and Manchester, NH all just had their warmest month on record.

The Washington Post reports that all four cities suffered unusually warm Julys. In Hartford, the average temperature was 4.6 degrees above normal. In Boston, the average temperature was about five degrees above normal, at 78.6.

In fact, according to the Boston Globe, Boston experienced “a year’s worth of 90-degree weather in 31 days.” In July 2019, there were 12 days above 90 degrees, which the Globe says is Boston’s average per year. Meanwhile, a century ago, Boston only saw an average of eight 90 degree-plus days a year, and while I’m no scientist, it seems like something’s amiss.

Per the Globe:

When you look at 30-year averages, the month we’ve just experienced is similar to what a typical summer would be like around Norfolk, Virginia, not Southern New England.

Meanwhile, the Weather Channel predicts that the Northeast will continue to see higher-than-average temperatures in August, as will the West Coast and Southwest (though it’ll be cooler in the Plains and in the Midwest, allegedly). Conserve energy, check on your elderly neighbors, drink plenty of water, and support climate change-battling legislation so we aren’t all living in a 110-degree swamp in 15 years.