AUGUST 2026 WAS HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD

BONN, SEPTEMBER 10 /SRNA/ - August 2026 was the hottest month in the history of recorded measurements, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

The global average air temperature in August was 1.65 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference value, with prolonged and early heatwaves, while Western Europe broke the summer temperature record set in 2003, Euronews reported.

The global average air temperature reached 16.96 degrees Celsius last month, which was 1.65 degrees higher than during the pre-industrial reference period from 1850 to 1900.

August was the first month since November last year to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold set by the Paris Agreement on climate change.

According to Copernicus, oceans outside the polar regions also broke the record for average temperature last month due to global warming, with the average temperature reaching 21.07 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded for August.