This summer has been Phoenix’s second-hottest on record, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.
Meteorologists define summer as June, July and August. The average temperature for those three months in Phoenix this year was 97 degrees. That ties 2023 for second-hottest ranking. Only the summer of 2024 was hotter, with a three-month average of 98.9 degrees.
This year’s extremely hot summer immediately followed Phoenix’s hottest spring on record and hottest winter on record. That puts 2026 on track for the hottest year-round average temperature on the books in Phoenix.
The extreme temperatures have come with public health consequences. Maricopa County has confirmed 136 heat-related deaths so far in 2026, more than double the number that had been counted at the same point last year. Another 605 deaths remain under investigation as potentially heat-linked…