In breaking news this week, Hawaii took yet another sideswipe from a hurricane, this time Hurricane Lowell, while the Southern California coast suffered swells from far-offshore Hurricane Marie, as El Niño continues to help stir up storm activity in the Pacific Ocean. We also learned it was the hottest summer on record in the United States, which may have been obvious from your electricity bills.
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to some of the latest stories on climate, energy and the environment. I’m Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent with USA TODAY.
Hot August nights?
More than 50 years after musician Neil Diamond released his double live album “Hot August Night” in 1972, millions of Americans were living that reality this summer.
The national average nighttime low for the month – 62.6 degrees – was more than 3.56 degrees warmer than the normal from 1901 to 2000 in the contiguous United States, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was the greatest departure from nighttime normal temperatures in August in the 132-year history of recordkeeping and only the third time that nighttime temperatures were more than three degrees warmer than the long-term average.
But the overnight low temperatures were far from the only records broken in August. The unusually warm temperatures helped send records for the month and the three-month meteorological summer of 2026 into overdrive, setting a record as the warmest August and warmest summer on record.
Expect more of the same in September in many locations across the country, NOAA’s September outlook warns.
“What stands out is how widespread and persistent the warmth has been, from the atmosphere to the oceans,” said Tyler Roys, an AccuWeather meteorologist. “Now we’re seeing a rapidly strengthening El Niño developing on top of that unusually warm global background. That combination could have significant implications for weather patterns around the world through the fall and winter.”
Burning Man confronts its environmental footprint
The weeklong international event known as Burning Man takes place each summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert with a “leave no trace” commitment when it comes to trash. The desert gathering of more than 62,000 people is examining the large amounts of energy and waste it generates, USA TODAY’s Trevor Hughes reported in a story and photo gallery. Local disposal businesses and sustainability experiments reveal the practical challenge of reducing that footprint.
“Burners are always trying to make things better,” said Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell. “Whatever humanity does, we’re doing it here.”
Research advancements explored
Two stories this week look at environmental research underway in the country. In Cape Cod, scientists with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution launch small drifters that are helping map the hidden circulation of Cape Cod Bay. The instruments track movement and travel with currents.
A new research vessel was recently launched by the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, a project more than a decade in the making. University Chancellor Aswani Volety said the R/V Osprey – a 78-foot-long, $7.2 million vessel – “represents what we are as a university.” Ken Halanych, executive director of the Center for Marine Science, called the vessel a “commitment to ask bigger questions.”
Data center construction surges, so does opposition
As the debate over data centers garners more and more attention, a USA TODAY report explains the basics of what they are, what they do and why they’re generating concern. Between January and March in 2026, at least 75 data center projects worth approximately $130 billion were disrupted by local opposition, according to the research firm Data Center Watch.
One report shows the Atlanta metro area has become the top market for total data center construction in the first half of 2026. Google, Microsoft and Meta operate data centers in central Georgia, with OpenAI planning an expansion outside Savannah. In August, the Atlanta City Council approved a Data Center Task Force to “examine national and global best practices” in the development, siting and regulation of data centers.
Here’s more of the week’s data center headlines:
Critter Corner
In Indiana, caves in national forests will stay closed longer this winter to help protect the state’s dwindling bat population, reported the Indy Star. The plan originated in a U.S. Forest Service bat conservation strategy. It’s meant to reduce human disturbance during times when the bats are swarming for fall, hibernating and then emerging in the spring. The bats have been under threat from white-nose syndrome.
In Arizona, the nonprofit Trout Unlimited is attempting to help restore cooler waters to the West Fork Black River and its Gila trout as the water levels drop along the Colorado River basin. The Arizona Republic reported burn scars from a wildfire and decades of grazing by livestock and elk had altered the ecosystem.
Read on for more, including a story on the battle over two acres at Yosemite National Park and the quest for funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. If someone forwarded you this email, we invite you to subscribe.