How do this year’s temperatures on the first day of summer compare to historical highs and lows?  Compare your local conditions to these maps showing the warmest and coldest first days of summer for more than 4,000 U.S. locations. 

Thanks to warming winters and thawing permafrost, Arctic soil microbes are churning out carbon dioxide well after the end of the growing season ends. This extra source of atmospheric carbon may accelerate a regional warming trend that is already twice as fast as the global average.