Since modern record-keeping began in 1895, the United States has not had a hotter year than the past 12 months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration鈥檚 National Climatic Data Center. From July 2011 to June 2012, the national-average temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit was 3.2 degrees above the national long-term average. The past six months have also set a record for the hottest half-year鈥攁n average temperature of 52.9 degrees, eclipsing the six-month average by 4.5 degrees. Over 170 warm-temperature records were broken or tied during the month of June. 鈥淲e tend to see these kinds of records broken in July and August,鈥� Jake Crouch, a climate scientist with the NOAA,聽 The New York Times, 鈥渁nd not in June.鈥�
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