For the first time in 132 years of recorded history, the United States endured a summer that exceeded every prior measure of heat, with the June-through-August period of 2026 averaging 74.4 degrees Fahrenheit nationwide. The record did not arrive alone — drought followed the heat, spreading across nearly three-fifths of the country by early September. What the data describes is not an anomaly but an acceleration, a summer that stands 3.5 degrees above the long average of the 20th century and asks a quiet, urgent question about what summers yet to come will bring.
U.S. records hottest summer ever with temperatures 3.5°F above 20th-century average
Widespread drought affecting agricultural productivity and water availability across 59.1% of the U.S., with particular impact on western and midwestern regions.
Climate & Environment