Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. What were the hottest years on record in the US?

Chart 1 of 1 · Climate

What were the hottest years on record in the US?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

Through 2025, 2024 was the hottest year on record in the contiguous US, 3.5°F above the 1901–2000 average of 52.0°F. The 10th hottest, 2006, was 2.2°F above it. Records began in 1895.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

Open the chart and its numbers

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