Climate Matters•April 14, 2021
Earth Day Trends
KEY CONCEPTS
The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and since then, the average U.S. temperature has warmed by 2.4°F.
Nearly two-thirds of the 246 cities analyzed have warmed more then 2°F, and 27% have warmed more than 3°F
In a hurry this Earth Day? Climate Central has you covered with a handy Earth Day toolkit.
Earth Day is the largest civic observance in the world, with more than 1 billion people and 190+ countries participating in environmental activities every year. The first Earth Day was established in 1970 to bring awareness to the health of our environment and planet. In recent years, especially in 2021, the focus is on climate change as global temperatures continue to rise.
WARMING SINCE THE FIRST EARTH DAY
In advance of Earth Day next week, Climate Central compiled annual temperature data from 246 locations across the U.S. since 1970—the year of the first Earth Day. On average, the U.S. warmed by 2.4°F, and almost every location (98%) reported a rise in yearly temperature. Of those places that increased, 65% warmed more than 2°F and 27% above 3°F. The majority of the top 10 greatest increases occurred in the Southwest:
Top 10 fastest-warming locations since the first Earth Day
RankLocationYearly Temperature Change (1970-2020)1Reno, Nevada7.6°F2Las Vegas, Nevada5.8°F3El Paso, Texas5.1°F4Tucson, Arizona4.5°F5Chattanooga, Tennessee4.5°F6Phoenix, Arizona4.3°F7Erie, Pennsylvania4.3°F8Burlington, Vermont4.3°F9McAllen, Texas4.2°F10Las Cruces, New Mexico4.1°F
Find Your Location Here (CSV)
EARTH DAY TOOLKIT
Need some quick content ideas and resources for Earth Day? Look no further than this handpicked selection from our Climate Matters media library
Carbon Dioxide & Temperature
Global Warming Stripes
2020 in Review: Global Temperature Rankings
See more below:
POTENTIAL LOCAL STORY ANGLES
How are people and organizations celebrating Earth Day in your area?
On the official Earth Day website, use the “Find An Earth Day Event '' search engine to explore how people and organizations around the world are celebrating Earth Day. You can narrow down the search by event type, location, and online vs in-person. Other resources include their own Earth Day Toolkit and a list of 51 actions you can take now to celebrate Earth Day.
METHODOLOGY
Average annual temperature from the Applied Climate Information System and U.S. temperature data is from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Trends are based on a mathematical linear trend line, beginning in 1970 for consistency between all 247 stations. However, for data summaries based on linear trends, only 246 stations are included due to large data gaps in Wheeling, W. Va.