Top Texas Climate Change Risks: Heat, Precipitation, Fire (2024)

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Top Texas Climate Change Risks: Heat, Precipitation, Fire? ›

Climate Risks for Cities in Texas

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Fifth National Climate Assessment was released this week and found that Austin can expect 100-degree days to double by 2050, and perhaps even triple by the end of the century if global greenhouse gas emissions go unchecked.

The heat dome over Texas

The Houston area has been experiencing a rigid high-pressure dome for most of the summer. The dome warms the region by causing air to sink, which inhibits rainfall, and it traps heat in the atmosphere, which creates a heat-island effect, Adams said.

People in Dallas, TX are especially likely to experience increased risks from heat, drought, and precipitation. Heat risk in Dallas, TX is extreme. Drought and precipitation risk is high. About 62% of buildings in Dallas, TX are at risk of wildfire, and the risk level for these buildings is significant.

Texas is expected to experience a wide range of environmental impacts from climate change in the United States, including rising sea levels, more frequent extreme weather events, and increasing pressure on water resources. Texas was ranked second by GDP across the U.S.

Texans should expect warmer weather, more wildfires and urban flooding, and increased impact from hurricanes through 2036 thanks to climate change, according to a new study from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist at Texas A&M University.

Summer 2024 outlook

Unfortunately, the National Weather Service's three-month outlook for June through August favors above-average temperatures again for all of Texas. Here is the National Weather Service's three-month outlook for June, July and August 2024. Above-average temperatures are favored for all of Texas.

(TNS) Over the next 30 years, Texas and other parts of the central U.S. are at risk of being exposed to extreme he—at — temperatures exceeding 125 degrees. The human body can no longer tolerate heat at that levels.

Florida is the hottest state in the US, with an average temperature of 73.4 °F. Louisiana is the second hottest state, with an average temperature of 68.5 °F, followed by Texas, the third hottest state, with an average temperature of 68 °F.

A new study suggests that once temperatures hit 104 to 122 degrees, our bodies may stop working optimally.

How hot will Dallas be in 2050? ›

Between 2041 and 2050, Dallas-Fort Worth may see August temperatures rise from a mean of 86 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of the 20th century to 94 degrees, with extremes rising above 120, reports one study by scientists at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Summer maximum temperatures are projected to increase by +2 to +3oF under both the lower and higher scenarios by near-‐century (2011-‐2040). By mid-‐century (2041-‐2070), temperatures are projected to increase by +3.5oF under the lower and +6oF under the higher scenario.

Climate Risks for Cities in Texas

The city with the lowest overall risk is Laredo. For heat, El Paso has the lowest risk and San Antonio has the highest risk. For precipitation, El Paso has the lowest risk and Houston has the highest risk.

In Texas, projections show cities on the state's southern coastline have the highest risk of being underwater by 2050. Cities like Galveston and Bayou Vista appear at risk of heavy flooding during annual high-water events according to the map projections.

A report by Texas A&M University's Office of the Texas State Climatologist projects average Texas temperatures in 2036 will be 3 degrees warmer than the average temperature from 1950 to 1999 and 1.8 degrees warmer than the 1991–2020 average.

Despite progress in recent years, air pollution from petrochemical facilities, power plants, cars and trucks, and more causes thousands of premature deaths in Texas each year, as well as inducing a host of human health issues including asthma and cancer.

Texas will continue to see temperature increases over the next 30 years, with Aransas County in South Texas facing the largest increase in hot days between now and 2053. In 2023, Aransas County can expect a week at or above 107.6 degrees, which will grow to 28 days in 30 years. Why is it getting hotter in Texas?

Since 1880, average global temperatures have increased by about 1 degrees Celsius (1.7° degrees Fahrenheit). Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.