July 2026 becomes hottest month in US temperature record
NOAA data show the contiguous United States averaged 1.8C above the 20th-century norm in July 2026, making it the hottest month in records dating to 1895.
In short
- NOAA data show the contiguous United States averaged 1.8C above the 20th-century norm in July 2026, making it the hottest month in records dating to 1895.
July 2026 was the hottest month recorded in the contiguous United States, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The national average was 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.8 degrees Celsius, above the 20th-century average. The result surpassed previous monthly highs set in July 1936 and July 2012 across a temperature record that begins in 1895.
Three separate heat-dome events affected the country during the month. NOAA reported extreme heat across the West, the Rocky Mountains, the upper Midwest, the Gulf Coast and the Southeast. Wyoming recorded its hottest July, with temperatures 5.1 degrees Fahrenheit above average.
The heat coincided with extensive wildfire smoke from fires in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Scientists say human-caused climate change is increasing the intensity of heat extremes by raising the global baseline temperature through greenhouse-gas emissions.
The July record concerns average monthly temperature. The United States' record for the highest average of daily maximum temperatures remains July 2024.
