Technology and Science · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Copernicus Climate Change Service Says August Was Joint-Hottest Month Ever Recorded Globally
August 2026 tied July 2023 as joint-hottest month on record, 1.65°C above pre-industrial. Copernicus data show global average temperature 16.96°C, hottest month on record.
15 outlets, one story, no spin found.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: august also set a record for global moistest conditions.
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Global heat record set
August was the joint-hottest month ever recorded globally, with global temperatures reaching 1.65C above preindustrial levels, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“global temperatures reaching 1.65C above preindustrial levels”
Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said: “August 2026 was a remarkable month in the global climate record.”
Copernicus data also showed sea surface temperatures “soared to their highest levels on record for August,” and the record came even before the coming El Niño weather system had made much of an impact.
The BBC reported that August was “joint-hottest month ever recorded, tying with July 2023,” and said temperatures for the month were 1.65C above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the critical 1.5C threshold agreed by countries to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
El Niño and fossil fuels
Scientists said the record was driven by a combination of climate change and the rising influence of El Niño, which pushes heat into the atmosphere across the Pacific.
Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, said: “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.”
The BBC described El Niño as a natural climate pattern in which a band of the eastern Pacific turns unusually warm, releasing vast amounts of stored ocean heat into the atmosphere and nudging global temperatures upwards for around a year.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned that “Extreme heat [has been] killing millions and costing trillions, hitting transport and health systems, and pushing up prices for household basics like food,” linking the impacts to the broader climate crisis.
Impacts and what’s next
Copernicus data also confirmed that western and central Europe, as well as areas of Scandinavia and southeastern Europe, experienced much drier than usual conditions over the summer, while many other regions were also drier than average.
“the UN conceded the “overshoot” this month”
Ruth Fuller, chief adviser on climate to the environmental charity WWF UK, said: “increasing the risk that natural systems will irreversibly change once they are pushed past tipping points.”
The Guardian reported that the impacts of August’s extreme heat were still being felt around the world, including “devastating wildfires” and “excess deaths from heatwaves,” and said food price inflation was likely to increase further.
Looking ahead, the Guardian said the UN conceded the “overshoot” this month and that large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would be needed to remedy it, while the BBC said the biggest impact of El Niño on global temperatures is expected to hit over the coming year.