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US sets warmest July on record as heat drives higher risk
NOAA says July’s US mainland average was 76.9F, about three degrees above the 20th-century norm, and daytime and overnight records also broke.
The US mainland logged its warmest July in 132 years, with NOAA reporting an average temperature of 76.9F (24.9C) in July. The figure was about three degrees higher than the 20th-century average and surpassed the previous July record set in 1936, during the Dust Bowl, by roughly 0.1F, according to NOAA data cited by Insurance Journal.
July’s record heat followed weeks of scorching temperatures, including a heat dome around the July 4 holiday and sweeping heat warnings later in the month. The article also notes unusually high average daytime temperatures of 89.5F, and record overnight lows at 64.2F.
Insurance Journal reports that climate scientists say human-caused warming makes heat waves more likely and more intense, pointing to an attribution study by Climate Central analysts that found 43 cities had at least a week where global warming made the temperatures at least twice as likely. The outlet also contrasts the 1936 record, which scientists attribute to different drivers such as poor farming practices that stripped vegetation and amplified heat and drought.
Looking ahead, NOAA expects central and southern parts of the US to see higher-than-average temperatures in August, with odds greater than 50% for parts of coastal California and the southern Plains. The article adds that experts say El Niño could increase the risk of above-normal temperatures, describing the combination of heat domes, El Niño, and climate change as a compounding factor for more records later this year.