Summer Warmest on Record, 2024 Heading Toward Hottest Ever: NOAA

A lineman works on power lines under the morning sun, in Phoenix on July 12, 2024. Matt York/AP Photo

The three-month span between June 1 and Aug. 31 was officially the world’s warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA’s monthly climate update, released on Sept. 19, showed the average global land and ocean temperatures for that period—which marks the meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the meteorological winter in the Southern Hemisphere—were 2.23 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average.

“This was the warmest June through August period, and NOAA’s records extend back to 1850,” Ahira Sanchez-Lugo, climatologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information said during a Sept. 19 press briefing.

The seasonal high means the world reached yet another record-warm average for Jan. 1 through Aug. 31.

Sanchez-Lugo said that 2024 now has a 95 percent chance of being the warmest year on record.

However, NOAA’s report states that average temperatures vary across the globe.

The United States, for instance, had its fourth warmest summer overall since its records began in 1895, but several states had individual high or near-record temperatures.

Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, and New Hampshire had their warmest summers on record.

Arizona’s capital, Phoenix, experienced more than 100 consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit from Memorial Day (May 27) through Labor Day (Sept. 2).

Temperatures reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for more than 50 of those days, and more than 35 of those nights did not see the temperature drop below 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Maricopa County public health officials confirmed 256 heat-related deaths for the year to Sept. 14 and said 393 deaths are still under investigation.

NOAA’s report also showed that the summer was dry for a significant portion of the country.

Alabama and Mississippi each reported their driest August on record and a significantly dry summer overall.

However, the report does not include the inches of rain both states received from Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in neighboring Louisiana on Sept. 11.

As of Sept. 17, 36 percent of the continental United States was reported to be in some level of drought, with southwest Texas, Ohio, and West Virginia reported to be the worst hit.

Looking ahead to October, November, and December, NOAA predicts above-average temperatures for most of the country, especially on the east coast and southwest around New Mexico.

Below-normal rain levels are expected to persist in the Southwest, but above-average levels are expected in the Pacific Northwest, Northeast, and Great Lakes region.

NOAA will hold a press briefing on the 2024–2025 U.S. winter outlook on Oct. 17.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.