Temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska, have exceeded 30 degrees
Environment — di Valentina Neri
For the first time in Alaska temperatures have surpassed 30 degrees: it happened on 4 July in Anchorage, where seasonal averages sit at 18 degrees.
Temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska, have exceeded 30 degrees
For the first time in Alaska temperatures have surpassed 30 degrees: it happened on 4 July in Anchorage, where seasonal averages sit at 18 degrees.
Families enjoying inflatable toys, young people paddling on SUPs, lawns packed with sunbathers. This is not some well-known seaside resort but Alaska, one of the coldest and most inhospitable places on the planet, which in recent days has been gripped by a heatwave that has broken every record.
Alaska grappling with exceptional temperatures
On 4 July 2019, American Independence Day, it was also a day to remember for the residents of Anchorage, the state's largest city, where the mercury surpassed 30 degrees Celsius: nothing like it had occurred since 1952, when the National Weather Service began regularly taking readings at the city's airport. To find the previous record one must go all the way back to 14 June 1969, when 29.4 degrees was reached.
Already in the spring of this year, temperatures in Alaska had exceeded the seasonal average by around 20 degrees, accompanied by rainfall that was more sporadic and intense than usual. A phenomenon that had already put the economy and transport networks under severe strain, as well as disrupting the balance of the ecosystem.
Read also: Le immagini del gelo che ha colpito gli Stati Uniti, e il tweet assurdo di Trump
With the start of July, new records were broken. As reported by the Anchorage Daily News, between 28 June and 3 July temperatures in Anchorage ranged between 21.6 and 27.7 degrees Celsius, before the remarkable 32.2 degrees recorded on 4 July at 5pm. These figures become even more striking when compared with the seasonal average, which sees highs of around 18 degrees Celsius, as documented by the National Weather Service.
In Alaska, global warming is moving even faster
As Rick Thoman, a climatologist at the University of Alaska, explained to the Guardian, ocean surface temperatures are above average and are contributing to warming the coastlines, triggering a kind of vicious cycle. "What else can you say but that this is an extraordinary phenomenon?", he commented.
For now, the local administration has banned fireworks for the 4 July celebrations, to avoid sparking new fires: around a hundred were reported last week.