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.

Rural Charms Drew Residents to Taylor, Texas. Then Came the Data Centers.TAYLOR, Texas—A red thresher cuts across the countryside off County Road 401 in Taylor, leaving behind tufts of discarded stalks as farmers prepare to plant seeWill Josh Shapiro’s Data Center Past Haunt his Political Future?Perhaps no issue has tested the political agility of Pennsylvania’s popular Gov. Josh Shapiro over the past two years more than data centers.  In about 20 monthThe EPA is quietly killing its web archiveTens of thousands of documents on contamination, clean power, and Trump’s climate deletions are now scheduled to disappear.Meta strikes deal to help bring a low-carbon cement plant to MissouriTech companies say they're seeking low-carbon construction materials to limit the climate impact of their data centers. But very little clean cement or green stBuy a wind-up radio – and don’t forget the chocolate: survival experts on how to prepare for an emergencyUK government guidance says we should be ready for the unexpected, but what’s actually helpful to have at home? We ask the specialists• The best power banks – tPublic sector an ‘afterthought’ to North Sea oil jobs, says Unison leaderAndrea Egan calls for same political focus on teachers, care sector and NHS and says Jackdaw decision ‘a serious misstep’UK politics live – latest updatesThe le
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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.