How Many Days Will You Need AC In Berkeley This Summer?

BERKELEY, CA — Residents of Berkeley are expected to need their air conditioners more often in the future, according to an interactive map and analysis from The Washington Post.

Here’s how heat indices and actual air temperatures in Berkeley have changed and are projected to change:

• 1981-2000: 28 summer days requiring air conditioning, with an average heat index of 64 degrees and average air temperature of 65 degrees.
• 2001-2022: 30 summer days requiring air conditioning, with an average heat index of 64 degrees and an average air temperature of 64 degrees.
• Projected for 2060: 89 summer days requiring air conditioning, with a projected average heat index of 70 degrees and air temperature of 70 degrees.

The analysis is based on the heat index, the feel-like temperature that combines the air temperature and relative humidity, rather than air temperature alone. A 65-degree Fahrenheit daily mean temperature was used to capture cooling needs throughout the day in cities nationwide.

The Post cited 2022 research in setting the 65-degree heat index threshold to determine air conditioning requirements. Any day surpassing that threshold was counted as a day requiring air conditioning for all locations annually, The Post said. The news outlet was assisted in the analysis by Colin Raymond, a UCLA research scientist. For the projected 2060 period, The Post used forecast air temperature and specific humidity from the NASA Center for Climate Simulation.

This year has so far been the hottest summer on record for millions of Americans from California to Maine as heat records fall around the country, especially in the U.S. Southwest as the world grows hotter with more greenhouse gasses added to the atmosphere.

Bay Area residents can expect the rest of the summer to have normal temperatures, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Since record-keeping began, some of the hottest temperatures worldwide have been seen in the last 10 to 15 years. Randall Cerveny, a professor at Arizona State University, told The Associated Press the heat records are the clearest possible signal that humans are altering the climate.

In addition to the U.S. Southwest, temperatures in India and the Middle East have been exceedingly hot this year, he said.

“It feels like the air is a blanket of just hotness that is enveloping you,” he said of the heat, which killed at least 37 people in the United States in July, CNN reported.