August 2026 becomes hottest month on record, EU climate monitor says

The global average surface air temperature reached 16.96 degrees Celsius in August, about 0.01 degrees above the previous record of 16.95 degrees set in July 2023. The figure was 0.85 degrees above the 1991-2020 average for the month and 1.65 degrees above the estimated pre-industrial level.

August was also the first month since November 2025 when the global monthly average temperature exceeded the pre-industrial benchmark by more than 1.5 degrees.

Western Europe recorded its hottest summer on record, as a series of unusually early, prolonged and intense heatwaves from May pushed the average temperature for June-August above the previous record set in 2003.

Ocean temperatures also reached unprecedented levels. The average sea surface temperature across extra-polar oceans between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north stood at 21.07 degrees Celsius in August, the highest recorded for the month.

Sea surface temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the tropical Pacific, where El Nino conditions are strengthening and could develop into one of the strongest events on record in the coming months.

The records showed that climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and oceans, with growing impacts on communities, economies and ecosystems worldwide, said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Earlier, Qazinform reported heat waves had been linked to 35,000 excess deaths across Europe.