‘Alarm bells ringing’ as US summer heat shatters record

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States (US) has endured its hottest summer on record, a new peak that scientists said should send alarm bells ringing over the increasingly dire impacts of climate change.

The average temperature for the contiguous US states — excluding Alaska and Hawaii — in the June-to-August period was 74.4F (23.6C), exceeding the previous record, set in 1936 and 2021, by 0.4F, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday.

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.