While autumn doesn’t begin on the calendar until later this month, “meteorological autumn” began on Sept. 1 and will take us until Nov. 30.
Since 1970, fall temperatures have been warming up at an alarming rate, not just here in South Florida, but across the entire country.
In fact, the Lower 48 states are now 2.7 degrees warmer now than back in 1970.
Reno, Nevada, is one city that has seen an explosion of fall temps, now 7.7 degrees warmer than five decades ago. Miami is 2.5 degrees warmer than in 1970 with 33 more above-normal fall days.
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By raising temps just a degree, there is a whole list of consequences:
- More pollen
- worse air quality
- higher a/c bills
- longer fire season
- more insect-borne diseases
- changes in bird migration, hibernation and fruit ripening
- health threats to the homeless, outdoor workers, students and athletes
