Cities Where Heat Has Jumped the Most in 50 Years
Since 1970, average temperatures across America’s cities have risen by 2.8 to 2.9 degrees — a trend driven by global warming. Climate.gov reports that according to NOAA’s 2024 Annual Climate Report, combined land and ocean temperatures have warmed at an average rate of 0.11°F (0.06°C) per decade since 1850, and more than three times that rate — 0.36°F (0.20°C) per decade — since 1975.
Climate Central analyzed temperatures across 242 cities and found that 99% were warmer in 2024 than in 1970, with 84% seeing an increase of approximately 2°F or more. The nonprofit also noted that “summers are heating up in every region — especially the Southwest and Northwest.”
Rising temperatures have also made cities less healthy. Climate Central warned that hotter summer temperatures lead to heat-related illness and worsen air quality, putting public health at risk. The World Health Organization reached a similar, though more detailed, conclusion: heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths and can worsen underlying conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health disorders, and asthma. It can also increase the risk of accidents and the transmission of some infectious diseases.
The health consequences of extreme heat are not limited to the world’s hottest regions. In 2024, NBC News reported that at least 645 people in Maricopa County — home to Phoenix and many of its suburbs — died from heat-related causes. Because death certificates often list secondary or contributing causes, heat is frequently not recorded as the primary cause of death.
The cities that warmed the fastest between 1970 and 2024 were:
- Reno, Nevada — +7.8°F
- Las Vegas, Nevada — +5.9°F
- El Paso, Texas — +5.7°F
- Tyler, Texas — +5.3°F
- Burlington, Vermont — +5.2°F
- Albany, Georgia — +5.1°F
Several of these cities cluster in regions of the U.S. that already experience high temperatures. Reno and Las Vegas are desert cities roughly 440 miles apart. El Paso and Tyler are about 700 miles apart but share the same state, both located in the southern half of Texas.
The warming trends in Albany and Burlington are harder to explain. The Burlington Free Press points to albedo as a leading factor in the city’s heat differential compared to surrounding areas. Albedo refers to a surface’s ability to reflect or absorb the sun’s radiation. Because cities contain large amounts of asphalt and pavement, heat is absorbed and then released back into the air, driving temperatures up.
In Albany, Pam Knox — director of the UGA Weather Network and an agricultural climatologist — told the Albany Herald: “I think part of what we’re seeing with that temperature record is just the growth of Albany. You see how much building is going on. Albany’s a lot more spread out than it used to be. Pavement contributes to its own urban heat island that has caused temperatures in Albany to rise faster than the cropland around it.”
The EPA projects that the U.S. will continue to get hotter. Average temperatures across the contiguous United States have already risen about 60% faster than the global average since 1970, and the agency expects this gap to persist as global temperatures climb due to climate change. The northern and western parts of the country are projected to warm even more rapidly.
In short, hot days will get hotter, heat waves will intensify, and warm nights will become increasingly common across the United States.
