LOS ANGELES, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The contiguous United States experienced its warmest meteorological summer on record in 2026, with the average temperature from June through August reaching about 23.6 degrees Celsius, according to a new report released Wednesday by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The average temperature for the contiguous United States during the summer was about 1.7 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average and 0.2 degrees Celsius higher than the previous records set in 1936 and 2021, according to the report.
August was also the warmest on record, with the average temperature reaching 24.2 degrees Celsius, about 1.9 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average. Average daytime maximum temperatures reached 31.4 degrees Celsius, also the highest on record.
Both August and meteorological summer were the warmest on record since 1895 for the contiguous United States, according to the report.
Total precipitation averaged across the contiguous United States in August was about 5.84 cm, about 0.81 cm below the 20th-century average, the report showed.
