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August Ties for Hottest Month on Record, Marking Climate Change Impact
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In Short: August 2026 tied with July 2023 as the world's warmest month on record, underscoring the impact of climate change.
August 2026 tied with July 2023 as the world's warmest month on record, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, highlighting the increasing frequency of extreme heat events driven by climate change and El Niño conditions.
The combination of record air temperatures and ocean heat, along with Europe's exceptional summer, demonstrated how climate change is now driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans, according to the Copernicus team.
The UK experienced its hottest summer since records began in 1884, with the Met Office attributing this to human-caused climate change, making the record 130 times more likely than it would be without human influence.
Western Europe experienced its warmest summer in recorded history, surpassing the previous record set in 2003, according to Copernicus. Heatwaves in August continued a run of extreme heat that began in May, leading to severe drought conditions in several countries.
The scientists noted that August marked a return to temperatures above a key threshold of 1.5C higher than pre-industrial averages, the first time this figure has been breached since November 2025. This threshold is significant as it represents a critical point in global warming.
Sea surface temperatures away from the polar regions were the highest on record for August, at 21.07C, and the joint highest on record across all months with March 2024, further emphasizing the impact of global heating from burning fossil fuels and rapidly warming seas in the Pacific associated with the strong El Niño weather phenomenon.
Climate change makes every El Niño hotter, and until we stop burning coal, oil, and gas, these record-shattering months will simply keep on coming, said Dr. Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at Copernicus, underscoring the urgent need for action to mitigate climate change.
What's still developing
- UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the record clearly showed humanity's impact on the climate.
- The one currently being experienced is still strengthening and could become one of the most powerful on record, according to the Copernicus team.
- SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida early Tuesday morning, using a first-stage booster making a record-breaking 37th flight.
Sources
- The Vibeslink