TEXAS, USA — In honor of Earth Day being right around the corner on Friday, April 22, we thought we'd take a look at some of the numbers regarding the warming trend both in Texas and throughout the U.S.
The first Earth Day was back in 1970 and according to data obtained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 99% of 246 cities analyzed saw an increase in average annual temperature.
In fact, the state of Texas contains two of the top 10 fastest-warming cities in the country out of the cities analyzed. El Paso ranks as the third fastest-warming and McAllen ranks as the ninth.
Which city ranked first? That title belongs to Reno, Nevada.
Research shows that the southwest region of the U.S. has experienced the most warming. Overall, the U.S. has warmed 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970.
But what does the warming trend look like in Central Texas? Unfortunately, we're trending even warmer than the national average. Austin's average annual temperature has increased by 3.7 degrees since 1970. This is more than the annual average temperature increase of Texas, which was 2.8 degrees.
Texas isn't the only state on the rise. Out of 49 states included in the study, all of them warmed by at least 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970. (Hawaii was not included in the study due to it's data not being included in the NOAA research).
You might think a few degrees doesn't matter at all, but you might want to think again. According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an increase in global temperatures has impacts such as sea level rise and increased drought risk.
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