Unhealthy Air Quality, Extreme Heat, Flash Flooding Impact Perth Amboy

Perth Amboy Flooding

The Summer of 2025 has had its share of challenges with severe weather in Perth Amboy. This weekend air quality reached unhealthy levels of pollutants due to Canadian wildfires. What looked like fog rolling in off the bay was actually smog. July severe storms caused flash flooding and cars were trapped in Perth Amboy in roads filled with water. Extreme heat with local temps recorded at 100 with feels like 102 and extended extreme heat advisories are common and impact local activities. Is this the future for the rest of our summers?

Perth Amboy Air Quality Alert

It was reported that Summer 2024 was the hottest on record, but scientists say that July 2025 beat that and is the warmest on record with higher than average temps. This intense summer heat aligns with a broader trend of warming temperatures globally. To battle the heat and provide cooling, the idea many residents had for an outdoor community pool should be taken seriously, and also the need for fountains and trees to help cool the city.

Keeping your local catch basin clean can help to address some of the flash flooding issues in Perth Amboy, to allow water to escape. However, climate change has created a situation where the amount of rain falling overtakes the capacity of our sewer system. With overdevelopment, stormwater management becomes more difficult.

At the July 9th Council Meeting, the Administration put on the agenda a roll back of stormwater management requirements in Perth Amboy, to make it easier for developers. The following excepts from the agenda list how they amended an ordinance to no longer require stormwater detention for some impervious surface construction. Impervious surfaces create runoff because there is no where for the water to go.

The rollback of advances in managing stormwater is a backwards step for Perth Amboy. The administration introduced the following amendments underlined below to stormwater management (ORDINANCE NO. 1970-2021, ADOPTED APRIL 28, 2021), also known as Chapter 384 ET SEQ. of the Code of the City of Perth Amboy Re: Stormwater Control for Non-Major Developments.

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