The list of the fastest-warming cities in the United States is out and Erie didn’t make the top five.
However, the Pennsylvania port city had the seventh highest increase in annual average temperature.
Erie was fourth on the list in 2023 but hasn’t since appeared in the top five of the results released each year on Earth Day by Climate Central.
Erie continues to remain high on a list of the fastest-warming cities in the United States.
The fastest-warming U.S. cities announced this year by Climate Central are Reno, Nevada; Las Vegas, Nevada; El Paso, Texas; Burlington, Vermont; and Tyler, Texas. Reno, Vegas and El Paso were all on the 2023 list with Erie. Results were based on the increase in annual average temperature since 1970.
“All 50 states and 99% of the 242 major U.S. cities analyzed have warmed since the first Earth Day in 1970,” according to information released April 22 on the Climate Central website.
How did Erie do?
Erie showed a temperature change of plus 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit from 1970 to 2025, based on linear trends of average annual temperature, according to the Climate Change information.
With the exception of Erie and Phoenix, at 4.8, the other top cities on the list were all up 5 degrees or more. Reno led the list at 7.9, followed by Vegas, 6.0; El Paso, 5.9; Burlington and Tyler, 5.3; Albany, Georgia, 5.1; and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Tucson, Arizona, 5.0.
Erie had a 4.7-degree increase on the list released in 2023. Reno was also at the top that year, with 7.7.
“Continued warming can harm people and ecosystems but we have many options to accelerate the clean-energy transition and cut heat-trapping pollution,” Climate Central said on its website.
How did Pennsylvania do?
The Keystone State was in the top 20 for most-warming, with an average annual increase of 3.1 degrees from 1970 to 2025.
More for Earth Day: Report assesses Lake Erie ecosystem. How you can help the Great Lake
The top states, with ties for second and third, were Alaska, 4.4 degrees; New Jersey and New Mexico, 3.7; and Delaware, Massachusetts and Vermont, 3.6.
The United States overall annual average was up 2.9 degrees since 1970.
Climate Central is a New Jersey-based nonprofit that describes itself as policy-neutral and an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about changing climate and how it affects people’s lives.
Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA high on fastest-warming city list for Earth Day