TAMPA, Fla. — Is it hot in here? It is. And, unfortunately, it's only getting hotter.
First Street Foundation, an organization aimed at making climate change information more accessible, published a report analyzing extreme heat events across the country to predict how many "extremely hot days" we'll have in 30 years — and the results already have me sweating.
Researchers looked at National Weather Service data to determine the number of days that will have heat indices, or "feels like" temperatures, of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more in the future.
Hillsborough County, for example, is predicted to have 73 days with "feels like" temperatures above 100 degrees in 2023. That number will go up to 107 days in 2053, according to the report.
This trend looks to be pretty consistent for counties throughout Florida and for many across the U.S.
Most counties along Florida's Gulf Coast, including the Tampa Bay area, are expected to see between 29% to 49% more days with a heat index above 100 degrees in 30 years.
But, what's the hottest it will get?
The study also predicts that a large section of the country, stretching from Texas to Illinois, will fall under what it calls an "extreme heat belt" over the next 30 years. According to the foundation, this means that 1,023 counties across the US will experience "feels like" temperatures above 125 degrees by 2053.
This prediction includes several Florida counties, like Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.
“Increasing temperatures are broadly discussed as averages, but the focus should be on the extension of the extreme tail events expected in a given year,” said Matthew Eby, the founder and CEO of First Street Foundation in a statement. “We need to be prepared for the inevitable, that a quarter of the country will soon fall inside the Extreme Heat Belt with temperatures exceeding 125°F and the results will be dire.”