What happenedEurope’s Copernicus climate service on Wednesday reported that August was tied for the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the U.S. also experienced its hottest summer “in the 132-year record.” The average temperature in the 48 contiguous states was 74.37 degrees Fahrenheit from June to August, 0.4 degrees “hotter than during the peak of the devastating Dust Bowl in 1936” and 3.5 degrees above the 20th-century average, The Associated Press said.
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