LETTER: More evidence we must deal with global warming

In response to your Tuesday story, “Las Vegas records 6th hottest year ever in 2021”: The numbers: 1.86 inches of rain, 87 days of temperatures above 100 degrees and 117 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas.

Under normal circumstances, I’d say that’s what you get when you move to the Mojave Desert. But these are not normal circumstances, and this issue extends far beyond Southern Nevada. In fact, 2021 was the fourth-warmest year on record in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The “urban heat island effect” is undoubtedly a contributing factor to higher-than-average temps in Las Vegas. We absolutely should invest in infrastructure, technology and building materials that will help our growing city adapt to this phenomenon. But we also need to acknowledge that the consequences of human-influenced global warming are already here and happening. If we want to keep our “urban heat island” habitable for future Nevadans, now is the time to take decisive and strategic action on climate.