Multiple bouts of hot weather have made June in North Carolina one of the warmest on record, with an average statewide temperature of just above 75 degrees.
Charlotte now experiences nearly a month more dangerous heat days each year than it did 50 years ago. By the 2060s, the state predicts Charlotte will see nearly 40 additional days when the heat index exceeds 95 degrees. Last year, three straight days of 100-degree heat marked the hottest stretch in a decade.
Despite late-month showers, statewide rainfall totals remained below normal, leaving the current drought in place.
As the hot stretch continues, parts of Charlotte experience the high temperatures differently. The sidewalks of NoDa reached over 130 degrees last Thursday, while the grassy and shaded areas of Cordelia Park measured 84 degrees.
Last year, the Charlotte Office of Sustainability and Resilience ranked extreme heat as the city's top climate-related threat. Residents also raised heat as a major concern and offered solutions like expanding the city’s tree canopy in public spaces.
The city has taken steps to mitigate heat stress, such as applying white pigment titanium oxide to roads, a method the city calls applying “road sunscreen.”
On this episode, we discuss what else could be in store for the summer as the warming climate impacts more and more of our daily lives. We look at how bad the drought is, how the climate is impacting certain residents, and what the city and communities can do now and in the future.
GUESTS:
Joi Mayo, Charlotte City Council Member representing District 3
Brad Panovich, chief meteorologist for WCNC Charlotte
Zachary Turner, climate reporter at WFAE
