August 2026 was as hot as July 2023, according to Copernicus data, becoming the warmest month in official records. Simultaneously, global ocean temperatures and summer in Western Europe reached record levels.
The EU Climate Monitor reported that August was the hottest individual month ever recorded globally, with ocean temperatures also reaching unprecedented high levels, and Western Europe concluding its hottest summer.
In response to this assessment, the UN warned that unless humanity abandons fossil fuels, the planet will move deeper into unknown territories.
Copernicus observations cover the period since 1940, but other data sources, such as ice cores, tree rings, and coral skeletons, allow scientists to correlate modern climate with a much longer historical context.
Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees Copernicus, told AFP that 'People have not seen temperatures as high as today, perhaps for at least the last 100,000 years.'
According to Copernicus, the average global air temperature in August was 16.96°C, exceeding the previous absolute monthly record set in July 2023 by only 0.01°C. Copernicus considered both months the highest jointly, given the negligible difference.
Scientists note that human activity, primarily burning coal, oil, and gas, has warmed the planet by about 1.4°C compared to the pre-industrial period, increasing the probability and severity of extreme weather events. Nevertheless, greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat reached new highs in 2025.
UN Chief Climate Specialist Simon Stiel commented on the Copernicus report, stating: 'The evidence is undeniable: it is a spiral rise in the price of human dependence on fossil fuels and the global climate crisis it fuels.'
What is expected next
Sea surface temperatures also set a new daily maximum and were as hot as in August, extending a three-month streak of record warmth in the world's oceans.
Over 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed by the oceans, which saved the land from warming but brought serious consequences for marine life, reefs, and coastal communities.
Records were broken in overheated basins such as the Atlantic and Mediterranean, as well as in the tropical Pacific Ocean, where the strongest El Niño weather pattern in the modern era is rapidly gaining strength.
These events are characterized by unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean but increase the likelihood of wild weather behavior thousands of miles away from these areas—from floods in Peru to droughts in Africa and wildfires in Australia.
The warming phase of the natural climate cycle, El Niño episodes usually cause a temporary spike in global temperatures that are already elevated by long-term background warming.
Scientists predict that records will continue to fall in the coming months as this 'super' El Niño approaches peak intensity around December, and 2027—and possibly 2026—will be the hottest years ever observed.
Frédérique Otto, a climatologist from Imperial College London, noted: 'Climate change is making every El Niño hotter, and until we stop burning coal, oil, and gas, these record-breaking months will simply keep appearing.'
Hot Summer
Copernicus also reported that August marked the end of the hottest summer in Western Europe, which surpassed the long-standing record set in 2003.
The season from June to August was characterized by strong, consecutive heatwaves, leading to school closures, river low flows, and land preparation for destructive wildfires.
Between mid-July and mid-August, the EuroMomo continental monitoring platform estimated that over 32,000 excess deaths occurred in Europe.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution network concluded that the particularly severe heatwave in June would have been 'practically impossible' without the influence of climate change.
However, abnormal heat was felt worldwide. On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that continuous territories of the United States experienced the hottest summer in history.
According to Copernicus data analysis conducted by AFP, regions inhabited by about 900 million people experienced the hottest July ever recorded.
Burgess, an oceanographer and strategic director at ECMWF, stated: 'We had an exceptional summer—not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world where records that existed for almost a century collapsed.'
She added that the climate 'will become increasingly extreme if we do not turn off the tap of global emissions.'
