The United States has grown 2.6 degrees warmer since 1970. California is the 16th fastest-warming state. Our temperature has increased 2.9 degrees farenheight over the past 52 years. We don’t perform as poorly as some other states thanks to the cooling effect of our Pacific Ocean, but the trend isn't good.
Within the Golden State, warming trends can differ quite dramatically.
“One of the big factors is proximity to the ocean/large bodies of water,” said Kaitlyn Weber, data analyst at Climate Central, an organization which researches climate change. “When you move farther inland, especially into the hot and dry Central Valley, cities like Chico and Fresno have continental climates which experience a larger range of temperatures both on a daily and seasonal basis.”
Climate Central recently ranked the fastest and slowest-warming cities across the state and country. Data from 246 U.S. cities was analyzed using the Applied Climate Information System and NOAA/NCEI’s Climate at a Glance. Almost every city in the country has gotten warmer to some extent, the researchers found.
Fastest-warming cities in California
- Fresno (+4 degrees)
- Chico (+3 degrees)
- San Francisco (+2.9 degrees)
- Santa Maria (+2.8 degrees)
- Palm Springs (+2.1 degrees)
Slowest-warming cities in California
- Monterey (no noticeable increase)
- Los Angeles (+0.4 degrees)
- Eureka (+0.4 degrees)
- San Diego (+0.6 degrees)
- Bakersfield (+1 degree)
Read the report here.