Numbers are in for the U.S., from the left-leaning Washington Post... this is something the right-wing news services might choose to ignore.
With the presidential election only four months away now, other news reports say Obama has some unfinished climate change business on the agenda, while Romney promises more energy development, with fossil fuels of all kinds considered, ramping up offshore drilling, Arctic drilling, drilling and fracking, coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation.
IIRC, the polls have Obama winning at this time... the wildfires combined with violent storms and power outage affecting millions during a heat wave in the eastern states might help focus voters on what needs to be done.
Quote:
U.S. completes warmest 12-month period again, smashes spring record
By Jason Samenow
...
The period from June 2011 to May 2012 was the warmest 12-months since records began (in 1895) in the continental United States. This unprecedented stretch of warmth bests the previous 12-month record, established just one month ago.
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center also reports today that:
* the year-to-date period (January-May) has been the warmest on record, 5 degrees above average
* the spring period (March-May) was warmest on record in the U.S., crushing the previous warmest spring (1910) by 2 full degrees and an impressive 5.2 degrees above the 1901-2000 average.
* the month of May was 2nd warmest on record, 3.3 degrees above average.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/cap ... _blog.html