A dry monsoon season like the one Phoenix had this summer doesn’t just negate the relief Arizonans get from the overbearing heat—it also harms local plant life.
Scientists blame human-caused climate change with an extra push from El Nino, which is a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather around the globe.
Cities with finite water supplies are finding creative new ways to stretch out the water they already have. For some, that means cleaning up sewage and putting it right back in the pipes that flow to homes and businesses.
Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state.