A scorching July contributed to the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States. Most of the U.S. was also drier than average. Rains from Isaac did little to relieve drought.
Arrival of monsoon eases India drought
September 5, 2012
Imagine heat waves like the one last July coming more often & lasting longer: that’s the projection from climate models for the middle of this century based on one future emissions path.
Arctic Sea Ice Breaks 2007 Record Low
August 27, 2012
It’s a discouraging fact that drought reinforces drought, especially in the summer. The Southern Plains were in the tight grip of that feedback loop in August 2012.
The average global temperature for July 2012 was more than 1° Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, making it the fourth warmest July since record keeping began in 1880
July 2012 wasn’t just the hottest July on record, it was the hottest month ever recorded for the contiguous United States since records began in 1895.
A series of unusually strong, long-lasting high pressure systems has parked over Greenland this summer. As many a weather forecaster has explained, high pressure generally leads to calm winds and sunny skies, both of which boost temperatures during the all-day sunshine of mid-summer at high latitudes. The conditions contributed to widespread melting of the ice sheet.
The current drought in the Southwest is not drier or longer-lasting than historic episodes documented in tree rings, but the current dry conditions stand out from the historical record by being hotter, according to Jonathan Overpeck, professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona.