A 1,000-year flood, historically bad air quality, extreme heat: Summer 2025 is far from normal in Wisconsin

Yahoo

a day ago

As of Aug. 12, Milwaukee will have endured 24 days of poor air quality from the Canadian wildfire smokes, 38 days of extreme heat and a mess of disasters from the past weekend's 1,000-year flood.
Summer 2025 is anything but normal. And we're not yet near summer's end.
Where summer in Wisconsin is often the time to enjoy camping trips long in the making, make a day of it at American Family Field, and get outside for walks, runs and healthy activities, this year's weather anomalies have dampened that summertime spirit.
The temperature might have been perfect but the air quality index was unhealthy for all groups. The air quality index may have briefly been in normal range but heavy rains kept us indoors. Sure, perfect days happened where the air quality was healthy, the heat was tolerable and storms didn't drive us inside, but how long did it last?
"We haven't had a lot of days with really nice, enjoyable weather, because either we had to worry about the air quality, or it's been really, really humid, or it's been decently hot," said Amanda Schwabe, a climate outreach specialist with the Wisconsin State Climatology Office in Madison. "There hasn't been a ton of really nice, enjoyable weather this summer.
Schwabe helps track and analyze weather events throughout the year to better understand Wisconsin's changing climate. It's typical for the state to have a few days over 90 degrees, and a decent amount of severe weather, even tornadoes, peppered in the earlier or later summer months.
On the surface, the average temperatures appear in the normal range compared to other Wisconsin summers, but it's the consistency of very warm, very wet days that Schwabe and other scientists at the state Climatology Office are paying close attention to. Green Bay had 10 extra days of above-average summer temperatures, Milwaukee's had eight, totaling 38 days of above-average heat.
"We're just not getting those nice breaks of cool, refreshing weather as much as we might typically get in a summer," Schwabe said.
It hasn't been this humid in Wisconsin since 1979, state climatology office says
The ongoing records broken by extreme heat would be bad on their own, but we also haven't felt humidity this intense since 1979, she said.
That wet heat, combined with a strong batch of winds in the lower part of the atmosphere from the south, was like "two fire hoses pointed directly at southeast Wisconsin," Schwabe said.
Then, the number of days where wildfire smoke made the air unhealthy easily soared past every other record-holding year, even 2023 when the smoke painted the sky an unsettling orange hue — and we're not even in peak Canadian wildfire season, Schwabe said.
The rest of August may be the third act nobody expected or asked for: more wildfire smoke that impacts our breathing, more heavy rains the southeast region can't handle, more days of extreme heat and humidity.
Wisconsin's miserable summer weather is also affecting our mental health, experts say
Few things are as destructive as a flood. Few things are more all-encompassing as unhealthy air. There's a sense this year that much of the miserable weather is inescapable and out of our control. Dr. Pamela Guthman has seen this dread play out with her patients.
It may not present itself as a mental health issue for many people, at least, not at first, Guthman said. It's witnessing the familiar streets turned into rivers, the rise of invasive species draining the life from ash trees you grew up climbing, the ominous haze hanging over Milwaukee's iconic skyline for days, weeks.
"Those feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious and depressed by extreme weather events, we call it solastalgia," said Guthman, a retired public and population health nurse who serves as a member of the Healthy Climate Wisconsin board. "People start to understand the significant existential threat we're in when it comes to climate and health. Sometimes just naming it for people will help them open up and talk about it."
Solastalgia combines the words "solace" and "nostalgia," and describes the existential or emotional distress caused by environmental changes, especially if that change degrades our sense of home. It can bring about a feeling of homesickness even if you've never left home.
Beyond the biological mechanisms of climate change on behavioral health, like heat's ability to increase suicide rates and aggressive crimes, a survey released last year from the American Psychiatric Association showed the combination of factors related to climate change — wildfires, extreme storms becoming more common, evacuations — has impacted just more than half of all Americans' mental health.
Related: Are we ready for the health problems that come with extreme heat changes? In a word, no.
Taking climate action, making indoor activities fun, relying on hope
So, what can we do if taking a walk to clear our heads isn't a safe option? And what about little kids who want to zoom head-first onto the playground or play with toys destroyed in the weekend floods?
For adults, Guthman suggests taking action if you're concerned about climate change. "Lifting up your voice," Guthman said, can help you identify what's happening in your backyard, your community, and beyond.
"We know the fossil fuel industry has negatively denied the situation that has contributed to all the drivers of climate change," Guthman said. "As people understand that, there can be some mobilization. Action helps take that negative energy and move it into doing something that will make for more positive changes."
From a clinician's perspective, Guthman emphasized the importance of taking care of both your physical and mental health. If the weather events have led to you feeling continuously down this summer, it might be time to consult with your primary care physician or mental health provider.
As for children, they have powerful imaginations. If the air quality is too unhealthy or if recent flood events have made outdoor play too dangerous, Guthman suggests some indoor play. Set up some forts for a play day inside, get out some coloring books, brainstorm with your kid about other fun, safe, and not-too-messy indoor activities.
"That helps shift their mindset to what it is that they can do," Guthman said. "It's all about hope and optimism, and that's so critically important when we're talking about mental health."
Above all else, check in with your friends and neighbors, Guthman said, to see what you can do to help. Maybe your neighbor's basement was completely flooded but yours remained dry. Human beings are hardwired for social connection.
"I think sometimes we forget that," Guthman said. "There's strength in connecting with one another that helps with hope and optimism. What are we in this world for, if not to help one another?"
If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at [e-mail] or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Summer 2025 in Wisconsin has been full of miserable, extreme weather