The hottest summer in 132 years was recorded in the US
The average temperature from June to August was 23.6°C (74.5°F) - this is 1936 and 2021
The hottest summer in 132 years has been recorded in the US
According to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cited by CBS News, this past summer was the hottest in the 132-year history of weather records in the United States.
From June to August, the average temperature was 23.6°C (74.5°F) — which is 0.2°C (0.2°F) higher than the previous record highs recorded in 1936 and 2021.
August 2026 itself also broke all-time records. The average monthly temperature reached 24.2°C (75.5°F), while the average daily high, equivalent to an anomalous heatwave, was 31.4°C (89.5°F), which is a record high.
Temperatures were "above or significantly above normal" across much of the continental United States.
Precipitation in the United States this summer was below the 20th-century average. From June to August, average precipitation across the country was 205.9 mm, which is 5.3 mm less than the average of the last century.
Nationwide, drought covered 59.1% of the US territory by early September, increasing by more than 10 percentage points in just one month.