On Tuesday Phoenix, Arizona set a record at 19 straight days of 110-degree or above heat recordings.
Climate change and a recently identified El Niño have both contributed to rising temperatures this summer across the globe — Phoenix, though, is different among U.S. cities this summer.
On Tuesday the U.S. National Weather Service said temperatures were blazing at up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit. The Tuesday high broke the previous daily record of 115 degrees, which was recorded in 1989, the service said.
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The weather service said the temperature at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport was already at 110 degrees Fahrenheit before noon on Tuesday.
Before the current streak of 19 days in a rowbroke the record for straight days at 110 degrees or above, the previous record of 18 straight days had been set back in 1974, almost half a century ago.
NOAA Climate Analysis Group Director Russell Vose told the Associated Press, "It's the longest streak that we’ve ever seen in this country."
Meteorologist Matthew Hirsch, who works for the weather service in Phoenix, said the heat wave is set to tie another record on Monday afternoon and could break it by Tuesday.
Hirsch said, "Take this heat event seriously, even if you're acclimated. This event is different from others just because it has been so prolonged, so we're urging people to take it seriously, stay hydrated and stay indoors as much as possible."
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