ALBUQUERQUE, NM – People are just days away from the crowds, breakfast burritos and hundreds of hot air balloons for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

But instead of the usual freezing temperatures, we may have to shed the layers for what could be a very warm balloon fiesta.

KOB 4 learned what pilots need to know from one of their pilots.

“Definitely a warmer season we are having this year. If I can remember many festivals long ago, the leaves along the bosque were already changing. Well, you know, it’s still all bright green,” said Troy Bradley, a chief pilot for Rainbow Ryders.

Bradley has been flying balloons since he was 17, and the warmer temperatures prepared him for the balloon fiesta. He has some simple steps that pilots should follow when taking off to beat the heat.

“The colder it is outside, the less heat you have to use to transship,” Bradley said.

Just think about the load in your balloon basket.

“That’s why we want to have a lower charge when it’s warm outside. So it’s not that we can’t fly, we’re just taking fewer people with us, so maybe we would adjust to one less person per basket or something like that,” Bradley said.

Pilots may want to consider a shorter flight window in this heat.

“The pilots have to be aware that with the higher temperatures, there’s a good chance that their fuel burn will be higher, and so they just want to make sure they don’t run out of fuel,” Bradley said.

But with a few adjustments, Bradley said the pilots should have no problem at the Balloon Fiesta this year.

“The temperature difference doesn’t harm flying. We still fly here every day,” Bradley said.

We’ve also spoken to the National Weather Service and they say pilots will experience cool temperatures on average in the morning. But when the sun rises, temperatures rise above average, and that’s when pilots have to make the necessary adjustments.