Advertisement

2014 summer was hottest on record, NOAA says

Summer 2014 was the hottest on record, even though parts of the U.S. experienced cooler than average temperatures.

By Brooks Hays
President Barack Obama wipes sweat from his face as he delivers remarks on climate change and new environmental standards. (File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch)
President Barack Obama wipes sweat from his face as he delivers remarks on climate change and new environmental standards. (File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch) | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- According to new data from the NOAA, the planet Earth hasn't had this hot of a summer since record-keeping began in 1880. In other words, 2014 was the hottest summer in modern history.

Of course, readers along the East Coast of the United States are likely to shake their heads at such news. Residents along the Eastern Seaboard largely avoided the sweltering heat that so often haunts their late summer evenings. Temperatures were on par with historic averages in the Southeast and in New England, but Mid-Atlantic states featured cooler weather than usual.

Advertisement

In terms of summer heat, the 2014 Global Climate Report shows the U.S. was a global anomaly in 2014. Many regions in Canada, South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East featured record high land temperatures throughout the summer months.

While this may all sound rather revelatory; it's not. With global temperatures continuing to rise, new records are broken every year. Nine of the 10 hottest Augusts on record have occurred since the turn millennium, the new report reminded readers. The last time the global temperature for August came in below average, the year was 1976.

Advertisement

NOAA scientists say elevated ocean temperatures have helped push land temps higher and higher this summer. "August global sea surface temperature ... record high departure from average not only beats the previous August record set in 2005," NOAA confirmed in a press release, "but also beats the previous all-time record set just two months ago in June 2014."

Latest Headlines