US had hottest month on record in July: agency

July 2026 marked the hottest month on record for the contiguous United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday.

The average temperature for the month in the 48 states, excluding Alaska, Hawaii and overseas territories, was 76.9F (24.9C), making it the warmest July -- and the warmest month of any kind -- in the agency's 132-year record.

That was 3.3F above the 20th-century average and breaks the previous record for the hottest month, July 1936, which was 76.8F.

The other top five warmest months on record include July 2006, July 2012 and July 2022, with human-caused climate change looming large over the trend.

The so-called "Dust Bowl summers" -- especially that of 1936 -- were fueled by drought and extreme heat combining with overplowing across the Great Plains, with the hot, exposed land influencing temperatures across North America and beyond.

Regions home to around 900 million people experienced their hottest July on record in 2026, including the Sahel, Central America, France and Spain, according to an AFP analysis of Copernicus data, which combines observations from satellites and weather stations around the world, together with climate modelling.

The naturally occurring El Nino climate pattern, which began in June and is expected to peak later this year, has already amplified unprecedented temperatures across Central America and northern South America.