July breaks US heat record set during 1936 drought

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the continental United States, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The data indicated the average temperature across the 48 contiguous states was 24.94°C, 1.47°C above the 20th-century average, Caliber.Az reports.

The previous July record was set in 1936, when the country was hit by a severe drought.

According to NOAA, July was also the hottest on record in New Mexico, Arizona and Florida.

In another 18 states, it ranked among the 10 warmest Julys on record.

Heat affected 40% of the continental US, with some areas also experiencing drought.

Against this backdrop, John Gottschalk, director of the US National Weather Service’s Operational Prediction Division, said the extreme heat was consistent with forecasts of the effects of global warming.

He had previously warned that this summer could be unusually hot.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov