Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights from June 2026

June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record globally, with the Arctic experiencing its warmest June ever. In the U.S., 66% of the contiguous region faced abnormally dry or drought conditions by July 7, 2026, and the West and Southwest regions saw their warmest January-June period on record. A very strong El Niño is forecast to develop between October and December 2026, with an 81% probability, likely pushing global temperatures to or above 1.5C by October. Climate Central's analysis indicates human-caused climate change is a key driver of summertime warming in 91% of analyzed U.S. cities.

• June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record globally for combined land and ocean temperatures, with the Arctic recording its warmest June on record, surpassing the previous record from 2012.
• Global climate indicators for June 2026 showed carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, reached 431.4 ppm, while Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extents were the third-lowest and sixth-lowest on record, respectively.
• In the contiguous U.S., 66% of the area was experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions as of July 7, 2026, with 45 states having areas of moderate or worse drought by late June.
• The West and Southwest climate regions of the U.S. experienced their warmest January-June period on record in 2026, contributing to a year-to-date average temperature that is the second-warmest on record for the contiguous U.S.
• Human-caused climate change is identified as a key driver of summertime warming trends in 91% of analyzed U.S. cities, with June warming observed in 189 of 192 cities since 1970.
• Energy demand for cooling in the contiguous U.S. reached the fourth-highest average number of cooling degree days on record for the January-June period, with Arizona setting a new record of 1,396 degree-days Fahrenheit.

APA

Trudeau, K. (2026). Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights from June 2026. Climate Central. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-briefings/june-2026

Chicago

Trudeau, Kaitlyn. Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights from June 2026. Climate Central, 2026. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-briefings/june-2026.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trudeau |first1=Kaitlyn |title=Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights from June 2026 |publisher=Climate Central |date=June 2026 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-briefings/june-2026 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trudeau2026climate, author = {Trudeau, Kaitlyn}, title = {{Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights from June 2026}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-briefings/june-2026}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }