According to the European Union’s climate service, Copernicus, August 2026 has reached the same record level as July 2023, jointly becoming the hottest month ever measured globally.
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The planet’s average temperature during this month rose to about 1.65 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, exceeding the critical threshold of 1.5°C, which the world’s countries aim not to surpass in order to mitigate the most severe consequences of climate change. Although a single month above this level does not mean the limit has been irreversibly crossed, it indicates a worrying trend.
This record has been influenced both by human-caused climate change and by the strengthening of the natural El Niño phenomenon, which warms the waters of the Pacific Ocean and releases large amounts of heat into the atmosphere. Copernicus experts emphasize that the current El Niño is intensifying and could be among the strongest ever observed, while its greatest impact on global temperatures is expected next year.
August also marked the end of the hottest summer ever recorded in Western Europe. In the United Kingdom, the summer of 2026 was the hottest since records began in 1884. According to specialists, human-caused climate change has made such a summer much more likely.
The heatwave that swept across Europe caused a series of problems: it affected schools, the healthcare system, and agricultural production, while fueling fires and droughts, contributing to tens of thousands of victims.
Experts warn that record temperatures should not be considered the ‘new normal’. As long as the burning of fossil fuels continues, temperature records will keep being broken and extreme phenomena will become increasingly severe.
“The evidence is undeniable,” declared Simon Stiell, the UN climate chief, linking the rise in temperatures to the use of fossil fuels and the global climate crisis.
