Temperatures in New Mexico this summer ran more than 5 degrees hotter than the state's 20th-century average and climate activists in Washington are demanding Congress devote more time to the climate crisis facing all 50 states.

“Climate Summer: Too Hot to Ignore” is a push to get Capitol Hill lawmakers to refocus on the climate and ignore constant distractions.

Margie Alt, director of the Climate Action Campaign, a national coalition of environmental groups, outlined the group's goals.

"We need to make sure we are transitioning to a clean energy economy that is better for our air, it is better for our economy, it is better for our health, and we know exactly how to get more clean energy on the grid," Alt explained.

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data show New Mexico’s summer temperature increase was the second-biggest jump of the 48 contiguous states as America went through its hottest summer on record.

The state averaged 76.2 degrees from June through August, against a 20th-century average of 70.9. Alt pointed out volunteers held more than 90 rallies to deliver the message to Congress: "Climate can't wait."

Alt wants legislators to confront the rising heat, worsening storms and dangerous pollution, and join the conversation on climate.

"A lot of people out there are talking about climate change. Unfortunately, we're not hearing as much from our politicians as we wish we were, and we can't solve a problem that we don't talk about," Alt emphasized.

According to NOAA, only Utah had a hotter summer than New Mexico, followed by Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. The summer of 2011 was previously recorded as New Mexico's hottest. The extreme heat coincided with increasingly dry conditions across large swaths of the Southwest.