US had warmest summer on record: climate agency

The contiguous United States endured its hottest summer since modern records began, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday, in the latest sign of a warming trend driven by human-caused climate change.

Average temperature for the meteorological summer, defined as the June-to-August period, was 74.4F (23.6C), exceeding previous records, set in 1936 and 2021, by 0.4F.

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.

The so-called "Dust Bowl summers" of the 1930s -- especially that of 1936 -- were fueled by drought and extreme heat combining with overplowing across the Great Plains.

This year also saw the warmest August since records began in 1895, with average temperatures of 75.6F.

Most of the mainland United States experienced above- to much-above-average August temperatures, with near-average conditions seen only in parts of the northern Plains and Midwest, NOAA said.

It comes as a strengthening El Nino pattern, expected to be the most intense in decades, has begun unleashing extreme weather across the globe.

It is predicted to bring record heat to 2027, but could also help make 2026 the hottest year on record, surpassing 2024.