US records hottest summer in 132 years

What the report says

The United States just experienced its hottest summer since modern record-keeping began, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as reported by Al Jazeera on September 9, 2026. NOAA said the average temperature across the contiguous US from June through August reached 23.6C, or 74.4F, which was 1.7C above the 20th-century average and slightly higher than the previous summer record set in 1936 and matched in 2021. August also set a separate heat record, with an average temperature of 24.2C.

Al Jazeera reported that the extreme heat arrived alongside worsening drought in much of the country. By September 1, roughly 59 percent of the contiguous US was in drought, with especially dry conditions in parts of the Great Plains, Midwest and South. Texas and Oklahoma were among the hardest-hit areas, while some states, including Indiana and Ohio, had unusually wet conditions and logged record August rainfall.

The article placed the US figures in a broader climate context, noting that four of the five hottest US summers have occurred in the past five years. It also pointed to the World Meteorological Organization’s warning that El Nino could intensify heat and other extremes globally, while NOAA expects warmer-than-usual conditions to continue into September in much of the US. The report said the trend matters because prolonged heat and drought can strain agriculture, water supplies and wildfire risk.