Posted on 14 June 2025 by Sue Bin Park

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Was 1934 the hottest year in the global record?

1934 was a particularly hot year in the contiguous United States, but not globally exceptional. Worldwide, 1934 was a relatively cooler year and does not stand out in the global record.

The myth began when NASA corrected 6 years of erroneous U.S. temperature data in 2007, shifting 1934 ahead in the U.S. dataset due to earlier calculation errors. Adjustments accounted for factors like time-of-observation bias and weather station changes. Regionally, 1934’s U.S. heat was part of the Dust Bowl, a crisis caused by drought and poor land management.

However, while regional temperature spikes occur naturally, global climate change concerns long-term and worldwide trends.

Global temperatures have risen since the Industrial Revolution, driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases. The ten hottest years on record were between 2015 and 2025. 1934 saw a global temperature anomaly of -0.16 C, while 2024’s record high was 1.28 C above the 20th century average.

Go to full rebuttal on Skeptical Science or to the fact brief on Gigafact

This fact brief is responsive to quotes such as this one.

Sources

National Drought Mitigation Center The Dust Bowl

World Meteorological Organization State of the Global Climate 2024

The Climate Brink Which was warmer: the 1930s or the last 10 years

PolitiFact 1936 in the United States was “much hotter than 2023."

EPA Climate Change Indicators: U.S. and Global Temperature

NASA Evidence

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer "yes/no" answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact — a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all of our published fact briefs here.