The period from January to August 2012 saw the most extreme weather in recorded history throughout the contiguous U.S., according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The agency’s Climate Extremes Index, which tracks the top 10 percent extremes in drought, precipitation, and temperature, was more than double the average value since the index was started in 1910.
The eight-month period between January and August was also the warmest on record for the lower 48 states, according to NOAA’s State of the Climate report. The report shows that the summer of 2012 was the third warmest ever recorded for the U.S. — only .2 degrees F lower than the summer of 1936, during the height of the Dust Bowl.
Our climate system, juiced by carbon pollution, is smashing old records faster than a baseball player on steroids.