With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
This June Was Earth's Third Hottest On Record
Sunny afternoon surrounded by palm trees in Venice Beach, California. (Guillaume Bassem Via Unsplash)
()
June temperatures may be a distant memory — in fact you might be wishing for them following this weekend’s dangerous triple digit scorcher that reached 128 degrees in Death Valley — but new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lays out just how hot the start of summer was.
According to NOAA, this past June was the third hottest on record for the globe, about 1.6 degrees hotter than average. In California, temperatures were about two degrees above average, putting the month in the top third of its hottest Junes.
The heat is part of a longer term warming trend, which has seen the state's average June temperature climb more than two degrees farenheit, or about .2 degrees per decade, over the past 126 years.
While some Junes have measurred below average — obviously — the last nine have been hotter than normal.
Support for LAist comes from
“Having nine years in a row is a fairly remarkable statistic given the fact that no other period in the 126-year record has seen that kind of consistency or persistence year-over-year for the month of June,” said Karin Gleason, climate scientist with the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Zoom in on Los Angeles County and the data shows that last month was about 2.5 degrees hotter than average, placing it among one of the hottest on record as well.
The first half of the year — January through June — was the second hottest start to a year on record for the globe.
Hotter temperatures due to climate change have huge implications for California, including an increased risk of wildfires (this decade has seen five of the most destructive in state history), worsening air pollution, and heat related deaths, which disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly specified a region that experienced record June temperatures, when in fact the record in question is global.
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our nonprofit public service journalism: Donate now.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Doctors say administrator directives allow immigration agents to interfere in medical decisions and compromise medical care. -
The Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7 and went on to kill 12 people and destroy more than 6,800 homes and buildings. -
People moving to Los Angeles are regularly baffled by the region’s refrigerator-less apartments. They’ll soon be a thing of the past. -
Experts say students shouldn't readily forgo federal aid. But a California-only program may be a good alternative in some cases. -
Distrito Catorce’s Guillermo Piñon says the team no longer reflects his community. A new mural will honor local leaders instead. -
The program is for customers in communities that may not be able to afford turf removal or water-saving upgrades.
Best of LAist