A small desert city has taken out the unwanted title of the hottest city in the United States for the month of July.
With an average temperature of 103. 2 degrees Fahrenheit, Needles in California surpassed even Phoenix, Arizona, which held the previous record.
The Arizona State Climate Office officially acknowledged Needles’ scorching achievement, jokingly welcoming the city, along with Palm Springs and Blythe, to the exclusive club of cities with triple-digit average monthly temperatures.
The mayor of the city, which boasts a population of just 5,200, wasn’t in the slightest surprised.
‘We probably did [beat the record], quite easily,’ Jan Jernigan said, adding that the area has adapted to its less than stellar climate by holding events early in the morning.
To battle the heat, food distribution events start at 5am and end at 8am before the heat becomes too unbearable to function.
The city has embraced the temperatures and leaned into the jeers, offering ‘Needles is Red Hot’ spicy candies as gag gifts to newcomers.
To escape the relentless sun, residents and tourists flock to the Colorado River, where Needles boasts three beaches.
‘You’ve [got to] be waist-deep in the Colorado River,’ said City Manager Patrick Martinez.
The city has invested $8.4 million in improving its riverfront areas, including parks and infrastructure, in an effort to enhance the quality of life for its residents.
Beach clean-ups have also been implemented to reduce the risk of future wildfires.
However, the intense heat has also brought challenges. A brush fire ignited near Needles in late June, burning 70 acres and destroying one structure before crossing into Arizona and burning 143 acres there.
The blaze was exacerbated by the dry conditions caused by the high temperatures, with fires burning 30 times as many acres statewide as last year.
To combat the extreme heat, Needles operates a senior center offering a cool refuge and water for residents.
This community hub 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 emphasized that the city ‘still has a long way to go’ in its efforts to adapt to the increasingly harsh climate.