Data shows more records for heat than for cold

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We report in this space many times in the course of a year about records being set for heat. The global trend spells out this fact: there are more daily high-temperature records versus daily low temperatures. Climatologists at Climate Central say that these numbers are an indicator of climate change.

In its analysis of available data, climatologists found an increasing frequency of record highs than record lows through the reporting period that ended in November 2024.

The data was made available from NOAA/National Centers for Environmental Information.

How was the data used? To show how long-term global warming has affected a city's temperature extremes, an analysis of the day's highs and lows was used. Climate Central used 247 United States locations for a period that began in January 2020 and ended Nov. 26.

In most locations, the number of daily heat records easily outnumbered the daily cold records.

This included that in the 2020s, 88% of the 247 locations set more high temperature records. That's 217 locations with more record heat than record cold.

What's more, of those 217 locations, 21 only set records for heat and NONE for cold. The leader in this area is Tampa with 114 heat records and zero cold records. Phoenix was second with 110, Miami third with 102, San Juan with 84 and Reno with 68.

It's not just summer where these heat records are being set. Heat records can also be set in spring, autumn, and, winter.

The day's weather allows for record-setting temperatures. But, with the planet warming these heat extremes will become more frequent and intense. Part of the problem is that these urban areas have fewer trees means there's more pavement which translates to the urban island heat effect.

We have mentioned heat islands several times during the late spring and summer seasons during our weathercasts. It happens when a city replaces natural land cover with buildings, pavements and other surfaces absorbing and retaining heat. It's not only the heat numbers that are affected but heat islands also cause an uptick in energy costs, can contribute to increased air pollution levels and, worse, heat-related illness and stress.

Since the late 1970s, daily heat records have become more common. Locally, the data indicates a significant rise in heat-related records since Jan. 1, 1970, which coincides with a drop in record-low temperatures. That number has significantly decreased to just a handful since 2000.

What makes this data more concerning is the fact as daily heat records outnumber daily cold records by 2 to 1, this ratio is likely to grow as Mother Earth continues to get warmer by the year.

And, worse than that, worse than anything, is that heat is and has long been the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States.

Data from 2024 will be made available in January.