We Mapped a Year of Extreme Weather

Temperatures in the United States last year set more heat and cold records than any other year since 1994, according to a New York Times analysis of weather station data.

The Times analyzed temperature data from more than 7,800 weather stations across the United States. Records have been set somewhere in the country every year since at least 1970, but 2021 stands alone when compared with recent years.

Heat waves made up most of these records. New highs were reached last year at 8.3 percent of all weather stations across the nation, more than in any year since at least 1948, when weather observations were first digitally recorded by the U.S. government.

Why it matters: Extreme temperature events often demonstrate the most visible effects of climate change.

Two kinds of air pollution are overlapping more often

In New Mexico, where I live, we have some hot summer days when the reaction of…