A little-known city in Southern California dethroned Phoenix as the hottest in the country, at least until July 2024according to the Arizona Climate Office.
According to data from the Arizona weather office, The city of Needles, which is located on Route 66 on the California-Arizona bordertopped the list as the warmest city in the United States in July.
Phoenix is happy to relinquish the record to Needles, now the hottest monthly US city with 103.2°F (preliminary avg July temp).
Arizona welcomes a few new members to the 100°F+ monthly temp club: Palm Springs (100.0°F) and Blythe (100.7°F). Welcome?
This is the 2nd time… pic.twitter.com/0IxUByqtWk
— AZ State Climate (@AZStateClimate) August 1, 2024
Needles, located in a desert area, was considered the hottest city in the world. with an average temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit between June 30 and July 30, 2024.
Keep reading: Incredible temperature rise in Southern California
“Phoenix is happy to hand over the record to Needlesnow the hottest city of the month in the United States,” the Arizona climate office said on social media.
During the month of July, Phoenix recorded an average temperature of 101.1 degrees F.
Phoenix is located in Maricopa County, Arizona, with an approximate population of 1.61 million inhabitants; while Needles, in San Bernardino County, has 5,200 permanent residents.although it is a major transit point along Interstate 40, and straddles the Colorado River.
Keep reading: High temperatures at their peak in Southern California
“We probably made it pretty easily (topping the list),” said Needles Mayor Jan Jernigan, who mentioned that Its residents have adapted to the hot conditions by holding their events early in the morning..
To cope with high temperature conditions, Food distribution events begin at 5:00 am and end at 8:00 ambefore the extreme heat becomes too unbearable.
The small town embraced the warm conditions of the area and prefers to take the subject in jest, offering spicy candies (Needles is Red Hot) as a gift to its visitors.
Keep reading: Newsom’s warning: Californians should beware of the sun
To find refreshment and escape the relentless sun, Its residents and tourists take advantage of the waters of the Colorado Riverwhere Needles has three beaches.
The small town invested $8.4 million dollars in improving the areas located on the banks of the Colorado Riverwith parks and infrastructure, as an effort to improve the quality of life of its residents.
Needles civil authorities also implemented clean-up efforts on the beaches to reduce the risk of vegetation fires occurring in the area.
Keep reading: Los Angeles has one of the hottest days
At the end of june, A fire burned 70 acres in an area near Needles and destroyed one structure before spreading its damage into Arizona, where it burned an additional 143 acres.
To provide a place of respite for seniors, the city of Needles operates a cool and water shelter center for residents.
The community center is equipped with a generator, ensuring it can remain open during power outages to protect vulnerable residents from potential heat-related illnesses.
In July, two more California cities had an average temperature above 100 degrees: Blythe and Palm Springs.
Keep reading:
· How to protect ourselves from heat strokes, blackouts, fires and drownings this summer
· California is under threat of extreme temperatures
Extreme heat forecast for Southern California for the July 4 holiday weekend