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.

Supreme Court Weighs Landmark Climate Deception Case Against Oil CompaniesThe U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from oil companies on Monday that could help decide the fate of more than two dozen lawsuits accusing the industry of decUS supreme court hears big oil’s bid to block climate damage lawsuitsHow court will lean is unclear amid Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil’s attempt to stop lawsuits at state levelThe US supreme court began its new nine-month term heaTory plan to cut energy efficiency rule for builders will cost new home owners £1,000 a year, says thinktank – UK politics liveA researcher at a climate change think tank says the Conservative policy would be a ‘disaster for first time buyers’Yesterday, as a gimmick, the Tories were hanUS supreme court to hear big oil’s bid to block climate damage lawsuitsCourt starts new term hearing Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil’s attempt to stop lawsuits at state levelThe US supreme court begins its new nine-month term hearing The latest reads about climate and emotionsThis collection will catch you up on the latest research and maybe even help you understand your own feelings.Board game helps players learn about climate impacts on tribal communitiesInspired by the Menominee Tribe and Reservation in Wisconsin, the game tasks players with responding to floods, fires, droughts, and other extreme weather event
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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.