WASHINGTON: The contiguous United States has endured its hottest summer on record, a new peak that scientists said should send alarm bells ringing over the increasingly dire impacts of climate change.
Among the Lower-48 states, average temperature for the June-to-August period was 74.4F (23.6C), exceeding the previous record, set in 1936 and 2021, by 0.4F, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Wednesday.
That means that four of the hottest summers on record occurred within the past five years, with 2022 and 2024 taking fourth and fifth place respectively, with human-caused climate change due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels looming large over the trend. This year also saw the warmest August since records began in 1895, with average temperatures of 75.6F.
NOAA had previously announced that July 2026 was the hottest of all months ever recorded in the United States.
“It is now time to stop acting surprised that our warming planet keeps getting warmer,” Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University said.
