A small desert town has taken the unwanted title of America’s hottest city for the month of July.
With an average temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Needles in California even surpassing Phoenix, Arizona, the previous record holder.
The Arizona State Climate Office officially recognized Needles’ astonishing achievement, jokingly welcoming the city, along with Palm Springs and Blythe, into the exclusive club of cities with triple-digit average monthly temperatures.
The mayor of the city, which has a population of just 5,200, was not in the least surprised.
“We probably accomplished it (breaking the record) pretty easily,” Jan Jernigan said, adding that the area has adapted to its less-than-stellar weather by holding events early in the morning.
The small desert town of Needles, California, has earned an unwanted title: the hottest city in the United States during the month of July.
With an average temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Needles, with a population of just 5,200, surpassed even Phoenix, Arizona, the previous record holder.
To combat the heat, food distribution events begin at 5 a.m. and end at 8 a.m., before the heat becomes too unbearable to operate.
The city has embraced the temperatures and tolerated the taunts, offering spicy candy with the legend “Needles is Red Hot” as joke gifts to newcomers.
To escape the relentless sun, residents and tourists flock to the Colorado River, where Needles boasts three beaches.
“You have to be waist-deep in the Colorado River,” said City Manager Patrick Martinez.
The city has invested $8.4 million in improving its waterfront areas, including parks and infrastructure, in an effort to improve the quality of life for its residents.
Beach clean-ups have also been implemented to reduce the risk of future wildfires.
But the intense heat has also brought challenges. In late June, a wildfire broke out near Needles, burning 70 acres and destroying one structure before crossing into Arizona and burning 143 acres there.
To escape the relentless heat, residents and tourists flock to the Colorado River, where Needles boasts three beaches.
The fire was exacerbated by dry conditions caused by high temperatures, and the blazes burned 30 times more acres across the state than last year.
To combat the extreme heat, Needles operates a senior center that provides cool shelter and water for residents.
This community center is equipped with a generator, ensuring it can remain open during power outages to protect vulnerable residents from heat-related illnesses.
While recent infrastructure improvements have been significant, Mayor Jernigan stressed that the city “still has a long way to go” in its efforts to adapt to the increasingly harsh climate.