2012 is the warmest half-year on record (PHOTOS)

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Us warmest six months 2012 1

A firefighter helps battle a brush fire in the Meadowlands near Metlife Stadium on April 11, 2012 in Carlstadt, New Jersey. Fire departments from around the area were on hand to bring under control one of many brush fires that have broken out in New Jersey and New York. Dry conditions, low humidity and strong winds are some of the culprits to the spreading fires.
- [Michael Bocchieri/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 2

A man walks through the rain during an intense afternoon thunderstorm on June 22, 2012 in New York City. The storm brought relief to two days of oppressively hot weather in New York and much of the East Coast where high heat warnings and air quality alerts had been issued from Quebec to Virginia.
- [Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 3

People refresh themselves at the WWII memorial on June 29, 2012 in Washington, DC, where temperatures have reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking a record high of 101 set almost 80 years ago. With a massive heat wave smothering central US, heat advisories are in effect in at least 21 states east of the Rockies.
- [YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 4

Homes destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire are seen from the air in a neighborhood on June 30, 2012 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The massive fire, which has eased with the help of cooler temperatures and lighter winds, has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced more than 35,000 people to flee.
- [Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 5

An open Starbucks store displays its updated status two days after a massive storm that swept through the region Friday night, July 1, 2012 in Bethesda, Maryland. Although crews are at work repairing systems, there are still almost a million people in the greater Washington, DC area without power.
- [Allison Shelley/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 6

A hand-written sign about local power company Pepco hangs on a pole in a residential neighborhood July 2, 2012 in Silver Spring, Maryland. About 445,000 businesses and households in the metropolitan area surrounding the nation's capital remain without electricity three days after a deadly storm ripped a path from Illinois to the Mid Atlantic region.
- [Chip Somodevilla/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 7

Dallas Maw of Currituck, NC, a member of a tree cutting crew from Auburey's Landscaping, works to dismantle a giant southern red oak tree that was blown over in last Friday's deadly storm July 2, 2012 in Silver Spring, Maryland. About 445,000 businesses and households in the metropolitan area surrounding the nation's capital remained without electricity three days after a deadly storm ripped a path from Illinois to the Mid Atlantic region.
- [Chip Somodevilla/AFP/Getty Images]
Us warmest six months 2012 8

Children play at a fountain at the Yards Park July 5, 2012 in Washington, DC. A record heat wave has been in the area for more than a week. Weather forecast predicted the hot weather will last through Sunday with possible daily triple-digit temperature.
- [Alex Wong/AFP/Getty Images]

This may come as no surprise, but the first half of 2012 was the warmest six months in a calendar year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's data, released on Monday.

The New York Times reported that the average temperature for 2012, through June, was 57.4 degrees Fahrenheit, about 4.5 degrees higher than the long-term average for the same period.

The period was plagued by heat waves, wildfires, storms and black outs across much of the country.