It’s no secret that Arizona is hot.

But via KJZZ’s Q&AZ reporting project, one listener asked a simple question with a less simple answer: Why is it so hot?

And the answer isn't quite as simple as “because we live in a desert.”

According to Kaitlyn Trudeau from Climate Central, Arizona’s climate - like every other place on Earth - is shaped by six key factors: ”There’s latitude, altitude or elevation, atmospheric circulation, how close you live to large bodies of water, ocean currents and topography,” she said.

In terms of latitude, most of Arizona sits in a valley around 30 degrees north of the equator, which is where Trudeau says most of the world’s large deserts are found.

Read the full story on KJZZ’s website.