Even the resilient desert plants are succumbing to the scorching heat and flames

The Southwest is experiencing increasingly frequent and severe heat waves, causing damage to desert plants known for their resilience. Saguaro cacti and agave, normally drought-resistant and heat-tolerant, have suffered in the sweltering weather. Ecologists are working to understand how different species respond to persistent extreme heat and determine the threshold at which it becomes too hot for them. In Las Vegas, horticulturalist Norm Schilling has observed damage to various plants, including sunburned leaves and drying out trees, as a result of the oppressive heat. Record-breaking temperatures have been recorded in the region, with little relief even at night. Ecologists in the Southwest, like Kevin Hultine from the Desert Botanical Garden, are studying the impact of heat stress on desert ecosystems. They have seen an increase in saguaro cactus mortality, with a significant die-off starting in 2020 during a severe, years-long megadrought. The high temperatures observed in recent years, worsened by climate change, are pushing the limits of desert plants and trees. Researchers are trying to understand how these species are affected by the ongoing heat waves, as they continue to study the impact of extreme temperatures on the fragile desert ecosystem.

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