Heat stress in Albuquerque
Mile-high desert sun delivers strong daytime heat stress despite cool, dry nights.
Light precautions for intense activity. Keep water handy.
Wet-bulb globe temperature via the Liljegren (2008) method. This page is cached and refreshes in the background, so the live badge below can be a few minutes ahead of it.
View Albuquerque on the live mapReading heat stress in Albuquerque
Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is the heat measure that actually tracks danger to the body. Unlike the plain air temperature on your phone, it folds in humidity, wind, and direct sun: the factors that decide whether your sweat can still cool you. It’s the standard the military, athletic associations, and occupational-safety bodies use to call when outdoor activity is no longer safe.
That matters in Albuquerque because mile-high desert sun delivers strong daytime heat stress despite cool, dry nights. The number above is the live outdoor WBGT for the city right now; tap through to the live map to inspect any neighborhood, scrub the forecast hour by hour, and see the 7-day outlook.
How hot Albuquerque usually gets
Across 2015–2024, Albuquerque averaged a 91°F daily high in summer: 43rd hottest of the 174 metros we track, and July is typically the warmest month.
Most of the heat here sits below the extremes: around 64 days a year top 90°F, and only about 3 reach 100°F.
The air is dry, averaging about 34% through summer, so sweat works and the danger is sun load and raw heat rather than mugginess.
A bad day runs well past a normal one, with 104°F recorded against a 91°F summer average.
Daily high temperatures and humidity from ERA5 reanalysis, 2015–2024 (hottest day in the sample: 2023-07-25). These are climate averages for context: the reading at the top of this page is the live one.
For school sports, NMAA (New Mexico Activities Association) publishes NMAA Bylaw 7.6.21: Heat Illness Prevention Protocol (6/25/2024), which lets a school use wet-bulb globe temperature or the heat index. New Mexico’s WBGT activity zones appear beside the live reading in the app. Our New Mexico heat policy page has the details, the source and the date we last checked it.
Heat in Albuquerque: common questions
How hot does it usually get in Albuquerque?
Across 2015–2024, Albuquerque averaged a 91°F daily high through summer, with about 64 days a year at or above 90°F and 3 at or above 100°F. July is typically the hottest month, and the hottest day in that sample reached 104°F. Figures are from ERA5 daily reanalysis.
When is the hottest time of year in Albuquerque?
July has the highest average daily high in Albuquerque. Summer humidity averages only about 34%, so sweat evaporates efficiently: the danger here is sun and raw heat rather than mugginess. Use the forecast on this page to plan around the specific days that matter.
Does New Mexico have a heat policy for school sports?
NMAA (New Mexico Activities Association) publishes NMAA Bylaw 7.6.21: Heat Illness Prevention Protocol (6/25/2024), which lets a school use wet-bulb globe temperature or the heat index. New Mexico’s WBGT activity zones appear beside the live reading in the app. Our WBGT is a modeled estimate rather than the on-site device reading a policy may call for, so check the association's own document for current requirements.
What is the WBGT in Albuquerque right now?
The reading at the top of this page is the current wet-bulb globe temperature for Albuquerque, New Mexico, computed from live weather by the Liljegren (2008) method and labeled with how recently it updated. For an exact reading at your own neighborhood, plus an hour-by-hour forecast, open the live map.
Why is WBGT more useful than the temperature for Albuquerque?
Air temperature ignores humidity, wind, and sun: the things that decide whether heat is dangerous. Albuquerque's climate (mile-high desert sun delivers strong daytime heat stress despite cool, dry nights.) is exactly why a single "feels-like" or thermometer reading can understate the real risk. WBGT captures all of it in one number.
When is heat most dangerous in Albuquerque?
July is the peak month in Albuquerque, and within a day heat stress is highest in the early-to-mid afternoon when sun load is greatest. About 64 days a year reach 90°F, so most of the risk sits in a handful of afternoons rather than across the whole season. Use the forecast on this page to find the window that works.
Put Albuquerque’s live heat stress on your site
A self-updating WBGT badge for schools, teams, camps, and local sites: it always shows the current reading and links back here.
<iframe src="https://wetbulbtracker.com/embed/albuquerque-nm" width="340" height="150" style="border:0" title="Live WBGT: Albuquerque, NM" loading="lazy"></iframe>Paste it into any website. The badge updates itself and links back here. Add ?theme=light for light sites.