• In July, Las Vegas recorded its highest temperature ever at 49 degrees. In June and July, there were only seven days when the night temperature dropped below 26 degrees.
• No other metropolitan area has grown as much as Las Vegas in the past 30 years. Growth has led to more roads, cars and houses, creating one of the most intense urban heat island effects in the United States.
• Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outer areas. Buildings and roads absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and waterways.
• Las Vegas is not the only metropolitan area experiencing extreme heat. In several cities in the “Sun Belt” such as Austin, Orlando, Phoenix and Atlanta, the population has doubled or more over a generation and the number of abnormally warm nights has increased at a similar rate.
Source: The New York Times