New Report: Temperatures Up in Houston

AUSTIN—As the presidential candidates prepare to discuss some of the most important issues facing our country at their final debate tonight, Environment Texas released a new report documenting that the average temperature in the Houston area in 2007 was 1.5°F above the historical average. The year 2007 tied for the second warmest year on record globally and was the 10th warmest year on record in the United States.  These record temperatures are part of a trend toward rising temperatures resulting from global warming.

“Throw out the record books because global warming is raising temperatures in Texas and across the country,” said Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas  “While one or two degrees may not seem like much, just as any parent with a sick child knows, even a small rise in temperature can have a big effect,” he continued.

According to NASA, seven of the eight warmest years on record globally have occurred since 2001.  These above-average temperatures led Environment Texas to more closely examine recent temperature trends at the local level. 

“Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the United States” compares government temperature data for the years 2000-2007 with the historical average, or “normal,” temperature for the preceding 30 years, 1971-2000.  Our data were collected at 255 weather stations – those with the highest quality data – in all 50 states and Washington, DC. 

Key findings for Houston include:

•         In 2007, the average temperature was 1.5°F above normal in Houston.

•         Houston’s above-average temperatures in 2007 are part of a warming trend.  Between 2000 and 2007, the average temperature was 1.3°F above the historical average in Houston. Nationally, the average temperature during this eight-year period was at least 0.5°F above normal at nearly 90 percent of the weather stations. 

•         Over the course of 2007, Houston experienced 107 days where the temperature hit at least 90°F, which is 7 days more than the historical average.  Extreme heat can have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death. 

According to the Texas state climatologist, average temperatures for the first half of 2008 were also well above normal. From January to June of 2008, average temperatures were 2.1°F above normal in Houston. The state climatologist has said that while Texas temperatures are quite variable, they are “ominously climbing recently”.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the prestigious United Nations body that won a Nobel Prize last year for its work – has concluded the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the increase in global average temperatures.  Burning fossil fuels to power cars, homes, and industry produces most U.S. global warming emissions.

A recent Bush administration report said “it is very likely” that more people will die in the United States during extremely hot periods in the future.  In addition, the report identified more powerful tropical storms, extreme rainfall with flooding, sea level rise, wildfires, heat waves, and drought as particular risks for the Houston region.

Energy issues have featured prominently in both presidential and vice-presidential debates this election season.  “We’re at a crossroads on energy, and it’s up to the next President to choose a new path that curbs global warming and helps recharge our struggling economy,” said Metzger.

“It’s clear that our energy crisis isn’t just hurting us at the pump, but it’s also causing Texans to feel the heat.  The good news is that repowering America with wind and solar power will curb global warming, and clean, renewable energy is one of the few bright spots in our troubled economy,” said Metzger.

According to the latest climate science, the United States and the world must break its dependence on fossil fuels and transition rapidly to 100 percent clean, renewable energy if we hope to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming.

Specifically, the United States must reduce its global warming emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050 and make energy efficiency improvements and the accelerated development of renewable energy the centerpiece of our environmental and economic development policies.

Recently, more than 150 members of Congress, including Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, endorsed strong principles for action on energy and global warming.  Environment Texas urged that those principles be the blueprint for action for the next President and Congress. 

“We commend Representatives Jackson Lee and Green for their leadership on this critical issue.  And we urge the rest of the Houstondelegation to join Rep. Jackson Lee in cosponsoring the Safe Climate Act (H.R. 1590), strong science-based legislation that would put theUnited States on track to solving global warming,” concluded Metzger.