Phoenix finally set the hellish record no one wanted Wednesday, marking the most days in a calendar year to reach 100 degrees or higher.

The National Weather Service in Phoenix reported the temperature hit 100 degrees at 2:37 p.m.

At 144 days of triple-digit highs, Wednesday’s temperature broke the record of 143 days set in 1989. Phoenix tied that record on Tuesday. 

The new number of 144 days sets a record going back to 1896, the first full year for which weather records were kept, according to Marvin Percha, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. 

“Of course, a record like this is pretty tough to beat, so we never really thought that we would have a high likelihood of getting it,” Percha said. 

Wednesday’s heat also means that exactly half of the days in 2020 so far have reached or exceeded 100 degrees.

Weather authorities don’t expect much relief, forecasting that we may continue to break the record over the next several days.

This autumn has failed to significantly cool down following the state’s hottest summer and one of the driest monsoon seasons on record.

However, by the end of next week, Phoenix should be looking at high temperatures down near 90 degrees, Percha said.

Persistent high pressure over the region is behind the inordinately hot weather that has plagued the state and caused extended summer temperatures. A weak monsoon season didn’t help either. 

Human-caused climate change and the urban heat island effect contribute to 2020’s weather as well.

Concrete and asphalt absorb the sunlight during the day and radiate the heat throughout the night in the Phoenix metro area, exacerbating already rising temperatures due to climate change.

The average temperature in the Valley has increased by 4.35 degrees since 1970, according to a 2019 report by Climate Central.

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