US records hottest July on record; oceans also hit record heat

July 2026 was the hottest month on record for the contiguous United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The average temperature across the 48 continental states reached 24.9°C (76.9°F), surpassing the previous records set in July 1936 and July 2012 by 0.1–0.2°F Source: NOAA via CNN. This was 1.8°C above the 20th-century average for July Source: EFE via Infobae. The heat was widespread, with 13 states ranking among their five warmest Julys on record; Wyoming experienced its hottest month ever Source: CNN. More than 600 monthly high-temperature records were set, while fewer than 50 cold records were broken Source: CNN.

Heat waves and impacts

A series of heat domes contributed to the extreme conditions, affecting major cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., where over 185 million people were under heat alerts Source: CBS via Infobae. Salt Lake City hit a record 42.8°C (109°F) on July 12 Source: CBS via Infobae. The heat coincided with drought, wildfires, and localized flooding; nearly half (48.5%) of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, and July ranked as the third driest on record Source: EFE via Infobae.

Ocean heat also breaks records

Meanwhile, the average sea surface temperature outside polar regions reached 20.96°C in July 2026, the highest for that month in the ERA5 dataset, surpassing the previous record of 20.89°C set in July 2023 Source: El Caribe. This underscores the ongoing ocean warming, which has absorbed over 90% of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions Source: El Caribe.

Disagreement on figures

While NOAA reported the U.S. average as 24.9°C, some sources cite 24.94°C Source: AP via Clarín. The difference is minor and likely due to rounding. Additionally, the ocean temperature record is based on Copernicus data, not NOAA, and refers to a different metric (sea surface temperature) than the U.S. air temperature record.