El Paso is finishing its hottest year on record, with numerous heat records shattered over the course of 2023.
The average temperature for the year in El Paso was 69.2 degrees. That is hotter than any other year in more than 130 years of weather records in El Paso, and 2 degrees hotter than any annual average temperature before the 21st century.
This year also was the hottest on record for the entire planet.
Why our temperatures are rising
Thirteen of the 15 hottest years in El Paso’s history have come since 2009. All 10 years since 2014 are currently among the 15 hottest years on record for El Paso.
Scientists say two key factors are primarily responsible for the growing heat in El Paso – global climate change caused by human activity, and local impacts from replacing natural land cover with pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat.
Throughout the 20th century, El Paso’s average annual temperature hovered at just under 64 degrees. So far in the 21st century, the average annual temperature has been 66.6 degrees, an increase of nearly 3 degrees.
Even amid two decades of rising temperatures, 2023 stood out. El Paso had 44 consecutive days above 100 degrees in June and July, shattering the old record streak of 23 days in 1994.
Temperatures hit 100 or more 70 times this year, eight times more than any previous year. That included 33 days of 105 or more, also the most ever for a single year in El Paso.
The heat wasn’t just limited to summer. El Paso also experienced its warmest autumn ever, and monthly temperatures were above average for 11 of the 12 months in 2023.
The planet also experienced its hottest summer and fall on record this year.
Scorching daytimes
For the year, the average high temperature in El Paso was 82.4 degrees, shattering the previous record of 81.5 in 2020.
El Paso’s daily high temperature averaged 76.3 degrees in the first half of the 20th century and 77.7 in the second half. So far in the 21st century, El Paso’s daily high temperature has averaged 79.3 degrees.
Warmer nights
Nighttimes also brought record warmth in 2023, with an average overnight low temperature of 56 degrees. The previous record was 55.9 in 2020. On 18 days in 2023, El Paso’s temperature did not fall below 80, another record.
On average, nights in El Paso have been about 3 degrees warmer so far in the 21st century than in the 20th.
A dry year
This past year has been one of the driest in El Paso’s history. Just over 4 inches of precipitation was recorded, about half of normal. Only eight other years had lower amounts of precipitation.
8:45 p.m. Jan. 1: This story has been updated with final data from 2023.
