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MOST ACCURATE FORECAST: Air quality alert in the Valley! Burn bans in effect

Maricopa County has issued "No Burn Days" for Tuesday and Wednesday and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has put the Valley under High Pollution Advisories those days, too.

By: Amber Sullins

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and last updated

PHOENIX — It's going to be a warm start to 2025 in the Valley!

With high pressure in control, temperatures are running well above normal for this time of the year and will get even warmer by the end of the week.

As winds stay light and our air remains stagnant, particle pollution is building up too and making it difficult to breathe for people with respiratory conditions, like asthma.

Maricopa County has issued "No Burn Days" on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has put the Valley under High Pollution Advisories those days, too.

Burning wood in fireplaces, stoves, and outdoor fire pits is prohibited. Do not use leaf blowers and try to carpool or take public transportation. Also, avoid off-roading and idling in long drive-thru lines.

Air quality looks to improve after New Year's Day, but temperatures will continue to climb.

Phoenix could top out in the upper 70s by Friday, putting us in record territory. The current record high that day is 79 degrees set in 1989.

Morning lows will continue to drop into the mid to upper 40s across most of the Valley over the next few days.

This December will likely go down as the warmest ever recorded in Phoenix!

As of December 30, our average monthly temperature has been 62.3 degrees. The warmest December on record so far was 1980 with an average temperature 61.3 degrees.

This will also likely be the warmest year on record in Phoenix. So far, Phoenix’s average temperature for 2024 is 78.6 degrees, which surpasses the previous all-time yearly record of 77.3 degrees, set in 2017.

Temperatures will likely drop heading into early next week, but above-average temperatures will likely remain in the forecast overall through the month of January.