Both summer 2026 and August 2026 were the hottest on record in the United States, according to new data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These heat records are mainly due to the alarming global warming trend from fossil fuel-driven climate change. At the same time, ocean heat is also breaking records, including in the eastern Tropical Pacific, a combined result of the developing Super El Niño and climate change, contributing to this record-breaking summer.
Below is a statement by Dr. Marc Alessi, a climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“We now live in a completely different climate than the one that existed 50 years ago. Heat records were shattered in all parts of the globe this summer, from the United States to Europe to Asia. While the developing Super El Niño undoubtedly impacted the summer’s global temperature and heat records, we must recognize that this El Niño is occurring on top of a changed climate from the burning of fossil fuels. In other words, we can expect record-breaking summers for generations to come if nations fail to sharply curtail heat-trapping emissions.
“What’s equally clear is that policymakers—especially in richer, high-emitting countries like the United States—must act urgently to limit climate change impacts and hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the crisis. Extreme heat and back-to-back heat waves have taken a deadly toll this summer in the United States and across the world. Without action to reduce global warming emissions and invest in climate resilience measures, heat-related illnesses and deaths will continue to mount.
“Meanwhile, the Trump administration has attacked and dismantled policies to limit heat-trapping emissions and to prepare for climate disasters. Failure of the administration and Congress to act has also left workers exposed to killer heat without comprehensive, enforceable heat-health protections. It’s unconscionable that the federal government is putting specific industry interests, including fossil fuel companies’ profits, ahead of people’s health and safety.”