It’s the south, and it’s August. That means it’s hot. But if you’ve lived here a while and you think it’s worse than usual, you’re right.
This decade (2010-2014) has already had as many 95+ degree days as the Triangle experienced during the entire 1980s. That’s according to an analysis from meteorologist Lee Ringer at News 14 Carolina:
If we focus just on this summer in North Carolina, we definitely have felt the heat here. Average temperature data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center for June through the first week of August shows the summer of 2015 in is the top 10 hottest summers on record for several cities: Charlotte: third hottest summer on record Wilmington: third hottest summer on record Greensboro: fourth hottest summer on record Raleigh-Durham: seventh hottest summer on record
Across the south, summers are about 2.3 degrees warmer now than they were in 1970, according to Climate Central. If you want to feel a little better: temperature rise is less in the southeast than other places across the United States.
And broadening out even further: across the entire planet, nine of the last ten hottest years ever recorded have occurred since 2000.
Credit Climate Central