New Yorkers Adapt to Hotter Summers Amid Global Warming

New Yorkers have long been considered an "adaptable bunch."Photo by(Guillaume David/Flickr)

After enduring the latest heat wave, New Yorkers are adjusting to a potentially 'new normal' for summertime

New York City — Days ago I wrote about New York City's weather being hotter than cities in Texas. That's abnormal for this time of the year, or anytime for that matter.

As for whether the Big Apple's feeling more like the "Big Bake" reflects global warming or merely Mother Nature's unpredictability, know one can say for sure.

But what I can say, and every other New Yorker, for sure is this: the past few summers here in NYC have been abnormally hot.

As the traditional summertime grows hotter, New Yorkers find themselves having to adjust. Perhaps traditional is no longer traditional in this instance.

Over the past week, the city adjusted by activating its first heat emergency plan of the year.

According to Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School. NYC's extreme heat is due to global warming.

"This means that all days are warming up, not just summer days," Professor Horton explains. "There is also concern that poorly understood surprises with climate change, like very early snow melt, which leads to very early drying of soils, could be making hot days even hotter.”

Whatever the case, New Yorkers are finding ways to adapt.