If you’ve been feeling like you’re in a different part of the country (or a different country all together) with all of the recent heat and humidity…you wouldn’t be wrong.
New York City, which was once a “humid continental climate,” is now considered a “humid subtropical climate zone.” Yes, you read that right. Subtropical!
The New York Times recently published a report that revealed the new distinction by the National Climate Assessment. Apparently to classify as subtropical, an area must average summers above 72 degrees Fahrenheit and winters above 27 degrees Fahrenheit. The city has met the former requirement since 1927, and the latter for the past five years on average (with the occasional cold bursts).
This year we even had the second warmest winter temperatures from January through March, a record in Central Park at 42.5 degrees Fahrenheit (the warmest one recorded wasn’t too long ago, in 2012 at 43.1 degrees), according to a Times interview with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The article mainly traced the changes through horticulture, showing how cherry blossoms bloom as early as March now, how native birch trees and sugar maples are starting to die down in the hot temps, and species that thrive in the South are now doing well up North.
The news comes at a time when we’re already going through our second intense heatwave of the summer, with temps in the high 90s but feeling like 100-105 according to the heat index. It’s one of the hottest years on record for NYC—the fourth hottest, to be precise—according to NBC New York, and it’s not even August yet.
There’s a heat advisory out until tonight at 8pm, and likely more to come. Stay safe, stay cool.
See also: FYI: It’s Totally Legal To Jump Into NYC’s Fountains When It’s Hot Out
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