LOCAL EDITION — Fort Myers, Southwest Florida

Climate isn't a debate here. It's the water temperature this afternoon.

Where Lake Okeechobee meets the Gulf — and where warming water, algae and sea level land on the same coastline. We publish what the instruments say — updated continuously, sourced to the agency that recorded it.

Today's local brief

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Automatically generated from live public data — not written reporting. Sources listed below each section.

Today's climate stories

Three or more stories every day, curated from climate and energy newsrooms and delivered in the ClimateNews Daily Signal.

Worst ever outbreak of bluetongue hits British farmsClimate crisis blamed as virus that originated in Africa spreads to livestock as far north as AberdeenshireBritish farmers are experiencing the worst bluetongue‘We want action’: Fijian climate activist sends message ahead of UN talks in PacificLavenia Naivalu has seen the impact of the climate crisis first-hand and is determined to amplify Pacific voices at this year’s pre-Cop summit in FijiFrom her wEurope’s Extreme Summer Triggered Cascading Climate ShocksDuring this past summer of climate extremes, more than half of Europe experienced dangerous levels of heat stress, the combined effect of temperature, humidity,21 States Sue EPA to Reinstate Climate Pollution Rules for Power PlantsMore than 20 states, including North Carolina, New York, California and Pennsylvania, as well as several cities, are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection AgeNew Jersey’s Middlesex County Sues Big Oil Over Escalating Climate ImpactsA New Jersey county has become the latest local government to sue major oil and gas companies, seeking to recover costs from damage caused by worsening floodingAs Negotiators Struggle to Advance a Plastics Treaty, Iran War Underscores the UrgencyAs nations met this week in Bangkok for informal meetings on a United Nations plastics treaty, more than 70 developing countries supported addressing all causes
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Right now in Fort Myers

Live readings from NOAA's Fort Myers station and state lab sampling. These are the numbers that decide whether the water is pleasant, profitable or dangerous this week.

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Sources: NOAA Tides & Currents station 8725520 · Florida DEP Algal Bloom Sampling · live spill map at EcoBoard.com · current conditions for the whole coast at EarthPortal.com

Active warnings

National Weather Service alerts currently in effect for Southwest Florida.

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Source: NOAA National Weather Service

Why we report this locally

Because the costs are local, measurable and already here — in emergency rooms, in tourism receipts and on the end of a leash.

Economic
$2.7B
Tourism losses from the 2018 red tide statewide — about $1.27B of it in Southwest Florida.
UCF Rosen College study, via SCCF
Economic
$5.3B
What a single harmful algal bloom could cost Lee County in lost recreation and quality of life.
Greene Economics, via The Invading Sea
Health
ER visits
Peer-reviewed research documents increased emergency room admissions for respiratory illness during Florida red tides.
Kirkpatrick et al., Harmful Algae (NIH)
Health
Pets
Dogs drink while swimming and ingest more grooming algae off their fur. Some cyanotoxins act within minutes. Keep pets out of blooms.
Live toxin results at EcoBoard.com

Get the local climate brief

A short email when the measurements change in a way that matters — water warm enough to drive blooms, toxins detected nearby, sea level or severe weather events. Free, and you can stop anytime.