The contiguous United States recorded its hottest month since national records began in 1895, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The average temperature across the Lower 48 states in July 2026 reached 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit, or 24.94 degrees Celsius, setting a new benchmark for the country.
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information said the figure surpassed the previous monthly record of 76.77 degrees Fahrenheit, established during the Dust Bowl in July 1936. The new reading was about one eighth of a degree higher and 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1901–2000 average, Axios reported from the federal analysis.
Above-average temperatures covered the entire contiguous country. NOAA said every Lower 48 state ranked in the warmest third of its own July record, while none ranked near or below average. The strongest heat affected the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast, even as Alaska experienced unusually cool conditions.
Nighttime temperatures were the most pronounced part of the record, according to the Associated Press account of the NOAA findings. Average minimum temperatures broke the previous national monthly record by 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists regard warmer nights as a characteristic signal of human-caused climate change because the atmosphere retains more heat after sunset.
The lack of overnight relief matters for public health and agriculture, since people, animals and crops depend on cooler nighttime hours to recover from daytime heat. The July result also followed repeated heat domes that trapped hot air over large parts of the country and produced several episodes of extreme temperatures.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center sees an elevated likelihood of above-average temperatures across most of the continental United States through August, Axios reported. The agency will continue assessing the developing 2026 climate record, while the new July measurement provides a national indicator of the scale and persistence of this summer's heat.
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