Salt Lake City saw one of the nation’s biggest increases in average coldest temperatures since the 1950s.
Why it matters: Shifts of this magnitude change which plants and insects can thrive here — along with the other impacts of climate change.
Driving the news: Salt Lake’s 30-year average yearly coldest temperature from 1995 to 2024 was 4.4°F — more than 8 degrees higher than the average from 1951-1980.
- That’s the sixth biggest jump among the 243 U.S. locations analyzed by Climate Central, a research and communications group.
What they’re saying: “Although such shifts could expand growing ranges for high-value crops such as almonds, oranges and kiwis, they could also expand ranges for harmful weeds and pests,” Climate Central says, citing the invasive kudzu vine and the brown marmorated stink bug…