Large swaths of the Sun Belt were hit by their hottest meteorological summer — June through August — on record.
Why it matters: The odds and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly increasing as the climate warms in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases.
- It was the warmest June, July and August on record globally.
Zoom in: The Gulf Coast and New Mexico were particularly hard hit by heat this year.
- Corpus Christi, Texas, tied or beat 28 daily temperature records. New Orleans and San Antonio each had 26.
By the numbers: This summer was the warmest on record for nearly 5% of the contiguous U.S.