July Fourth was Earth’s hottest day on record. What does this mean for Spokane?

Wednesday’s news that the previous day was the world’s hottest recorded aligns with a gradual warming trend seen throughout the Spokane region.

While Spokane’s Fourth of July was relatively normal at 85 degrees – 5 degrees above average – the region has seen abnormally hot temperatures in recent months.

The past two years had record-breaking temperatures throughout May, July, August and October, charting much higher than this year’s numbers are predicted to, according to Spokane National Weather Meteorologist Rocco Pelatti. Heat waves in 2021 and 2022 started earlier than this year, Pelatti said.

“This year’s June is not really remarkable,” Pelatti said, “but 2021 was ‘The Year’ for June.”

Spokane broke its all-time documented heat record that year on June 29 with a high of 109 degrees. All told, 19 people in Spokane County died from the heat wave.

This year, May broke several records.

The month had a record average daily temperature of 63.5 degrees, marking the fourth time Spokane has broken an average monthly temperature record in two years.

May also broke a record for the highest average low temperature.

Pelatti said there is a warming trend in Spokane’s temperatures, but it’s been relatively linear (gradual) instead of exponential (fast).

Average seasonal temperatures through September are 40-50% likely to be above average.

With these higher temperatures in Spokane come new dangers, including an increased wildfire potential, especially in this region’s “abnormally dry” climate, per the U.S. Drought Monitor. More than 2,600 acres have burned across Washington in recent days, and Spokane hasn’t reached its predicted temperature peak for the summer.

Brian Henning, director and founder of Gonzaga University’s Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment, said Spokane has been making strides to offset the impacts of a hotter city, but should go further.

“But we need to do more of it, and do it more quickly,” Henning said.

Henning believes there are many ways for Spokane’s community to address climate change in the short term.

“There are certain parts of our community that have what are called urban heat islands, places that have less vegetation, and so they’re warmer pockets of heat,” he said.

“We need to pursue more tree planting,” Henning continued, so that communities are “able to have more shade, which would make it better cooling.”

Priority Spokane, a local coalition of organizations, announced recently that one of its top goals for the region in the coming year is to add to the tree canopy.

Meanwhile, the Spokane Regional Health District announced last week it’s launching an extreme heat initiative in response to rising local temperatures.

In the midst of the rising heat, Henning believes it’s important to ensure that the most vulnerable have the resources they need.

“I think it’s important that every household has a way of cooling off in at least one space in their house,” Henning said. “We need to probably help low-income residents to get a portable air conditioning unit so that they can be able to cool off the space.”

Henning also has ideas for Spokane in the long term.

The city should “figure out ways of reducing our contribution to what’s driving these warmer temperatures,” Henning said.

“All of these huge heat waves and wildfire smoke and all of that is expected, unfortunately, to get more pronounced, and will continue to get worse until we actually address some of the root causes,” he said.

Henning added that there are steps individuals can take to address this issue. The average person can, “learn about how they can make changes in their own lives to both save money and to reduce their climate pollution.”

Still, Henning said 60% of the problem, “can only be changed by changing big structural issues about how we create energy.”

Despite Tuesday’s record worldwide temperature, Henning is happy society’s views on climate change are changing.

“Finally, we’re no longer debating about whether it’s happening, but now we’re experiencing it,” Henning said. “I’m really excited and optimistic that we’re at a juncture in the Northwest, in Spokane, where people are finally thinking, ‘What should we do about this urgent problem?’ ”