Summer of 2021 tied for hottest in US since 1936 Dust Bowl

The summer of 2021 was tied with the 1936 Dust Bowl as the hottest summer on record, according to a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report.

June, July and August had a combined average temperature that was nearly 0.01°F hotter than the extreme heat experienced during the Dust Bowl summer.

Several states, including California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Idaho, individually experienced their hottest temperatures on record. Additionally, 16 states recorded summer temperatures that made it into the top five for warmest summers on record. No states reported temperatures that fell below average, according to NOAA.

The agency notes that the record heat coincided with several incidents of extreme weather, including wildfires that ravaged the West Coast.

The Dixie Fire became the second-largest fire in California history, and the Caldor Fire tormented the South Lake Tahoe region, among others.

“Air quality remained a concern across the U.S. as ash and fine particulates from the many wildfires obscured the skies,” the report reads.

The news of the summer record comes a month after NOAA released a report stating that the average global temperature reached an all-time high in July.

“In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest July and month ever recorded. This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe.”