NYC One Of America's Climate Change 'Hot Spots,' Report Says

NEW YORK — Summer in the city is getting hotter. Climate change has made New York City one of America's "hot spots" where temperatures have risen dangerously fast, a new analysis shows.

The five boroughs are among 71 counties of 3,107 across the United States that have seen average temperatures increase 2 degrees Celsius since the late 1800s, according to The Washington Post's report published Tuesday.

That's the threshold at which experts warn global warming could have potentially catastrophic effects such as the death of most coral reefs and enormous sea level rise. The 2015 Paris climate accord included a commitment to keep the planet's long-term average temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius.

But the Big Apple has already crossed that line. The average temperatures in Manhattan, Queens and The Bronx have risen 2.2 degrees Celsius, or 3.96 degrees Fahrenheit, since 1895, according to the Post's analysis of temperature databases, scientific studies and local climatologists' reports.

Brooklyn and Staten Island have seen their average temperatures rise 2.1 degrees Celsius, the report shows — still more than twice the national increase of 1 degree Celsius.

New Yorkers aren't alone, as some 34 million Americans live in "rapidly heating regions," the Post says. The Northeast is especially troubled — every state in the region except Pennsylvania has seen temperatures from December through February rise 2 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century, according to the report.

"Scientists do not completely understand the Northeast hot spot," the Post reports. "But fading winters and very warm water offshore are the most likely culprits, experts say. That’s because climate change is a cycle that feeds on itself."

New York City leaders have recently taken steps to stem the tide of climate change. The City Council passed a package of legislation in April aimed at beating it back, including a landmark law requiring large buildings to reduce their emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Read The Washington Post's full report here to see how New York City compares to other places in the lower 48 states.