Summer turning the corner after a historically hot first half

In the midst of the smoke outbreak, DC reached and wandered past the midway point of climatological summer, which runs June 1 through Aug. 31. With an average temperature of 79.8 degrees, it was the fourth-warmest first half of summer on record.

That's about 2.2 degrees above average for the first half of summer.

Interestingly enough, it's also 2 degrees cooler than the first half of summer was in 2024 — the hottest first half of summer on record. It finished as the third-warmest summer recorded in DC.

Of the top 10 warmest summers on record, all but one have happened since 2010. With modern history data to 1872, it is a clear sign of warming induced by human-caused climate change.

There's also some good news to share: When it comes to averages, we're turning the corner.

Monday is the last day with an average daily temperature of 81.3 degrees in the District, the max for the year, which runs July 14 to 20. On Tuesday, it drops to 81.2.

The average high temperature began to decrease Saturday, when it fell from 89.9 to 89.8.