Greenhouse gasses are causing temperatures to rise in cities across the U.S., but Boise is among the fastest warming urban areas in the country, ranking 14th out of 242 cities surveyed.
Since the 1970s, cities across America have seen an almost 3 degrees temperature increase on average. But looking at data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the science advocacy non-profit Climate Central shows Boise has warmed up by 4.5 degrees in the last six decades.
“As the data set shows, Boise is actually warming at a rate that is above Idaho and above the United States,” said BSU geoscience professor Alejandro Flores.
While the state average temperature has increased at the same rate as the rest of the country, the capital city is noticeably warmer than smaller towns and rural areas in Idaho.
This is in part, Flores said, because development is replacing irrigated lands with subdivisions, and creating heat islands in the Treasure Valley.
“That land use conversion actually has a really important effect on very local temperatures,” he said.
Winters are also getting shorter. According to NOAA’s data, Boise’s cold season has shrunk by nine days on average.
“We don't get those sort of big seasonal snowpacks. And that has a lot of cascading consequences,” he added.
Snow levels have been at a historical low this year, putting the state at a higher risk of water supply shortages, drought and wildfire later in the season.
“This water year is a great illustration of what a future winter looks like in a warmer world, in Idaho and the western United States,” Flores added,
Reno, Las Vegas and El Paso top the list of fastest warming cities in the country.
