NOAA data show the contiguous United States averaged 76.9°F in July 2026, exceeding the prior July 1936 record by one-eighth of a degree and marking the warmest month in the agency's 132-year record. Above-average temperatures covered much of the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains, and Southeast, while Alaska recorded cooler-than-normal conditions. Sources attribute the trend primarily to human-caused climate change from fossil fuel combustion.