Last updated October 15, 2021
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Southwest US Heat Wave June 2017

United States

The fingerprint of global warming has been firmly identified in the increasing intensity, duration and frequency of extreme heat events.[1] The trend in warming has contributed to the probability and magnitude of 82 percent of record-hot days observed globally.[1]

It is within this context that mid-June temperatures soared 15 to 30°F above normal across the Southwestern US,[2] from California's Central Valley, to Las Vegas, and down to Phoenix. High temperatures are typical before the Southwest monsoon season; however, the extreme — record-breaking — nature of the event is a classic signal of climate change. This is the second of two back-to-back years of extreme heat in the Southwest during the pre-monsoon season.

Heat waves have generally become more frequent across the US in recent decades, with western regions setting records for numbers of these events in the 2000s.[3]

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southwest heat wave
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Global Warming
Large Scale Global Circulation Change
Atmospheric Blocking Increase
Air Mass Temperature Increase
Extreme Heat and Heat Waves
Southwest US Heat Wave June 2017