Oakdale Claws Through The Hottest Ever Summer

September 21, 2023

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

A graph from Nasa showcasing the global temperature anomalies from 1880 to July 2023. As visible above, July 2023 has had the highest deviation.

With the season coming to a close, the summer of 2023 is one for the history books. According to data from multiple sources, including NASA, this summer has been the hottest season ever recorded.

The heat started with a record breaking June. CNN reported that the temperature was 0.5 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) globally above average. While it may not seem like a marginal change at first, the previous deviation record was 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.7 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Throughout the summer, the heat continued to rise. July was dubbed the hottest month ever recorded. Temperatures throughout the month were over the average by a total of 0.24 degrees Celsius (0.43 degrees Fahrenheit.) Areas within the Americas, Northern Africa, and the Antarctic Peninsula experienced temperatures 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. Over the course of the month, July 3rd through the 6th, were the hottest days. Each day broke the record for the highest global temperature. The highest was 17.23 degrees Celsius (63.02 degrees Fahrenheit) on the sixth.

Similarly, August experienced another heat anomaly. The month exceeded the global sea surface temperature record with a temperature of 20.98 degrees Celsius (69.7 degrees Fahrenheit.) Each day of the month, the global sea surface temperature was higher than each day from the month holding the previous record, March of 2016

Overall, 2023 has been one of the three warmest years on record. Just below 2022 and 2016. The World Meteorological Organization predicts another warm recording breaking year between 2023 and 2027.

Not only has the summer heat had drastic global effects, with many droughts and heat induced illnesses; it has also had huge effects on the Fredrick community.

As of August 29th, Frederick County is in a moderate drought. During this time, Myersville has limited their water usage due to their source of water, Catoctin Creek, being too low. During the limitation, people are advised not to: water flowers, lawns, or shrubs, wash vehicles, or fill up swimming pools. Anyone who breaks the limitation will face a fine of $250.

Besides the drought, the community has also faced earlier crop germination and an abundance of dead plants, including grass.

Additionally, Oakdale faced a multitude of setbacks due to the extreme heat. Such as games and other outdoor activities being postponed or canceled.

Oakdale sophomore Gianna Lazzaro describes how the heat personally affected her. Lazzaro notes, “I have definitely dealt with some heat exhaustion [and] lots of sweating.” Lazzaro is not alone in her sentiment; a majority of students have faced some sort of difficulty due to the extreme heat, including issues such as sun poisoning.

Adding on, Elizabeth Nave, a science teacher at Oakdale, describes why the heat may have had such drastic effects on our community: “I do believe that people have become more sedentary and therefore spend more time indoors. That in turn, makes the heat even harder on those people. There is no chance for them to acclimate, which will lead to heat related illnesses.”

The risk of heat related illnesses tend to make individuals spend even more time indoors, afraid of being harmed from the weather. Meanwhile, others similar to Nave who spent plenty of time outside this summer, were barely affected by the summer heat.

The summer of 2023 defied the odds in a multitude of ways, from extreme heats and its global effects. However, Oakdale(and the globe) are on track to experience another record breaking summer. Next time, hopefully the world will be better prepared.

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About the Contributor

Bailee Neyman, Editor

Bailee Neyman is a sophomore, currently enrolled in her second year of Journalism, and is excited for another fun year. She actively enjoys both reading and writing. She also plays both the clarinet and electric guitar.