1. No, Albuquerque is not as hot as Phoenix, Las Vegas or Tucson. Last year the temperature got to 100º F just once. Not at all in some years. The temperature gets to 100º or more in Phoenix one hundred or more days a year.
2. Yes, Albuquerque is just as high above sea level as Denver. In fact, parts of Albuquerque are higher than any part of Denver. The altitude in Denver ranges from 5,130 to 5,470 feet above sea level. The altitude in Albuquerque ranges from 4,946 to 6,120 feet above sea level. Albuquerque has the highest altitude of any of the 50 largest cities.
It may have officially only got to 100 degrees once last year… but as someone who worked outside all summer, let me tell you in some parts of the city it was over a hundred at least a handful of times.
Remember, the official temperature is taken out in the middle of nowhere, well away from asphalt and other things which magnify the heat back where many Albuerquerqueans (Albuquerqueites?) live and work.
Silly, stay indoors or in the shade. The official temperature everywhere is taken in the shade.
Actually, Albuquerque’s climate is similar to Denver’s and Salt Lake City’s. They are all next to a mountain range.
And, LP, I did not mean to say our summer isn’t warm, only that is nothing like Phoenix — and many people I talk to think it is just like Phoenix (which can easily have a 100 days a year when the temp reaches 100+).
I think Albuquerque is fortunate to have four distinct seasons, but none so pronounced or long that they become an endurance test.