Miami bakes in unusual heat before Democratic debates kick off

Ten Democratic presidential contenders will take the debate stage in Miami on Wednesday night. Some of them may have noticed that the weather in town is unusually hot.

Normally, temperatures in Miami around June's end max out at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, explained Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. But the coastal city has now had six consecutive days where the high temperature hit at least 94 degrees. On Monday the temperature hit 98 degrees (the second hottest day in Miami's recorded history).

Daily temperature records have fallen in the area, which is expected these days.

"The warming climate does certainly play a role in setting new records," McNoldy said. "The baseline temperature is warmer than it was decades ago, so record lows rarely happen, while record highs are happening with increasing frequency."

Overall in the U.S, twice as many daily heat records have been set as low records over the last decade, thanks to boosted average temperatures. 

"The trend is in exactly the direction we would expect as a result of a warming planet," climate scientist Michael Mann told Mashable in February. 

Climate change is likely to be an issue brought up at this year's Democratic debates, though coverage of the topic has been nearly non-existent in previous presidential debates. Democrats have expressed a profound concern for accelerating climate change.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) previously told Mashable that climate change is an issue "at the top of our list." However, the DNC said that none of the 12 primary debates will be devoted to the issue of climate change — much to the frustration of climate change-focused candidate Governor Jay Inslee. 

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It's not just unusually hot in Miami, however. It's also quite dry.

"We also typically get frequent doses of rain during June, but we're now at eight consecutive days with barely a drop," noted McNoldy. 

This has contributed to a large 41,500-acre fire burning through Everglades, releasing smoke into the skies around Miami. 

"This regional combination of dry weather and scorching temperatures has allowed a gigantic wildfire to blossom in central Broward County, something we tend to see happen during the dry winter months," said McNoldy.

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