Global Temperatures for July Break Records
Global Temperatures for July Break Records
High temperatures in July are breaking global records, questioning potential strain on the power grid, healthcare delivery, and is this a new normal.
July has proven to be a pivotal month in the global effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. For the month, soaring temperatures shattered longstanding records worldwide. Since the beginning of the month, each passing day brought unprecedented heat, culminating in a relentless streak of high temperatures that persisted throughout the month. It was even difficult to find relief at beaches as water temperatures reached new record highs — water temperatures off Florida coast registered 101.1°F.
The implications of this extreme heatwave extend far beyond discomfort and weather observations:
From strain on the power grid, need for more public pools and cooling centers, to improving the country’s healthcare delivery system, state and local governments face an increasing set of challenges.
U.S. Faces Longer, More Intense Heat Waves
U.S., European heat waves 'virtually impossible' without climate change, study finds National Public Radio
30 days over 110 F in Phoenix Politico
Largest US Grid Declares Emergency Alert For July 27 Bloomberg
Pouring Ice Into Concrete: Builders Adapt to Extreme Heat Wall Street Journal
Where has all the money gone?
States siphoned away $750 million in infrastructure law climate funds Washington Post
States lose federal water funds as lawmakers redirect money to pet projects Washington Post
These Covid-19 pandemic-era relief programs are expiring soon CNN
Hospitals Ask Congress to Delay ACA Medicaid Funding Cuts — For the 14th Time KFF News
Another Year of Teacher Shortages …
How Bad Is the Teacher Shortage? Depends Where You Live. New York Times
Plagued by teacher shortages, some states turn to fast-track credentialing Stateline
New teacher incentive law aims to help with teacher shortages FOX Illinois
The first three weeks of July turned out to be the warmest three-week period ever recorded. Temperatures even exceeded the 1.5°C threshold above preindustrial levels, a limit set in the Paris Agreement to mitigate climate change. July 2023 has been marked by a series of record-breaking global mean surface air temperatures. From July 3 to 6, the daily temperature record was broken four days in a row. Since then, nearly every day has been hotter than the previous record, with the hottest day being July 6, when the global average temperature reached 17.1°C (62.7°F). An exceptionally long period of unusually high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) is contributing to the heat. Since April, daily global average SST has remained at a record level for this time of year.
Remote Work and City Structure National Bureau of Economic Research
Major U.S. cities with over 1.5 million workers saw an 80% drop in trips to the central business district (CBD) during the pandemic, stabilizing at just 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
Smaller cities with less than 150 thousand workers had a similar loss in trips to their CBDs, but have since fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
As remote work becomes more common, shorter commutes are less critical, leading to reduced demand for housing near city centers.
Office work faces a coordination challenge, as workers prefer the CBD if others do too, but opting for remote work otherwise.
The pandemic triggered a "permanent change in one of the most enduring characteristics of human organization: work at city centers."
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and the author alone.