July was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched country

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.

Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
This means the month was the hottest July, and hottest of all months, in records that go back to 1895. It surpasses previous high marks set in July 1936, in the teeth of Dust Bowl conditions, and July 2012.