This Summer Is Breaking Records for Hotness and Dryness

Photo by Rebecca Siegel on Flickr/Creative Commons

In case you didn’t notice the sweltering firestorm of heat that has made up this summer, we have news for you. If the weather doesn’t cut it out, this year will mark one of the hottest and driest summers in Boston.

A new report from the Boston Globe laid out a a hefty list of records to compare this summer to, and it isn’t pretty. Up until this week, the average daily temperature for the season has been 73.4 degrees. If the last two weeks of the meteorological summer stay on par with what’s been happening, that average will rise to 73.6 degrees, making it the fifth warmest summer in the city on record.

Either way, this summer will be less than a degree away from the hottest summer in Boston ever—which averaged at 74.1 degrees. It’s only made it to that temperature twice: in 1949 and 1983. And thanks to a devastating drought in the state, we’re also pretty close to being one of the driest summers ever. Currently, the city has measured 3.02 inches of rainfall—just .95 inches shy from 1957’s dry record of 3.97 inches for the season. That means if we don’t get much rain for the next two weeks, 2016 will be the new record holder.

Boston isn’t alone in its possible new streak of records. Earlier this week, the Globe reported that globally, there has never been a warmer month than this July. Scientists say it’s a sure sign of global warming caused by humans.

Fellow earthlings, please don’t let us become like this Twilight Zone nightmare: