Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder, Rep. Ed Markey, 202-225-2836

WASHINGTON (January 8, 2013) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the continental United States, breaking the previous record from 1998 by 1.0° degree Fahrenheit. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.2°F above the 20th century average.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the co-author of the only climate change bill to pass a chamber of Congress today said that 2013 must be a year of progress and clear action to cut the carbon emissions that are heating up our planet.

Below is the statement of Rep. Markey, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee:

“Climate change is costing American lives and livelihoods. In our warmest year on record, the United States suffered the most widespread drought since the Dust Bowl, record wildfires that engulfed neighborhoods, and superstorm Sandy, which killed more than 100 people and could cost taxpayers $60 billion.

“Our planet is warming, our oceans are rising, and our storms are strengthening. Congress can no longer afford to watch the devastation from an air conditioned perch.  We must make 2013 a year for climate action. Waiting around for the next supertorm to flood Boston’s Faneuil Hall or the Boston Garden is not an option.”