Environment
The U.S. Just Had Its Hottest Autumn on Record
The unprecedented heat helped strengthen wildfires and deepen ingrained drought.
Despite the claims of the U.S. House committee on science, the world continues to experience an incredible stretch of record heat with an American autumn that was as wretchedly warm as a dog’s mouth.
The average temperature for September through November was 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the contiguous U.S., not too torrid-sounding until you consider the historical average is 53.5 degrees. November in particular was balmy, ranking second place in heat for the month in 122 years of records. The three months combined represent the hottest-known fall in U.S. history, nudging out last autumn’s (until now) unprecedented temperature of 56.8 degrees.