U of A Professor Talks Extreme Heat Awareness
Ladd Keith, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, explained to News 4 Tucson that it was only five or ten years ago when cities and governments began to take extreme heat more seriously.
Jacob Owens, KVOA News 4 Tucson
Tucson has set a new record for hitting 100 degrees earlier than ever before, marking the second consecutive year of this early heat.
The previous record for reaching 100 degrees in Tucson was set on April 11, 2024. That’s nearly a month later than when Tucson hit triple digits this year, this Thursday, March 19.
Ladd Keith, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, explained to News 4 Tucson that it was only five or ten years ago when cities and governments began to take extreme heat more seriously.
Keith emphasized that heat is the leading weather-related killer. He pointed to a heatwave outside Southern Arizona – the deadly Pacific Northwest heatwave of 2021 as an event that brought more attention to extreme heat.