August marks hottest month on record as human-driven warming and El Niño combine
August 2026 was the warmest month globally since records began, with temperatures well above pre-industrial levels, according to the European climate service Copernicus. Scientists said the extreme heat reflects both human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions and a strong El Niño event.
The European climate monitoring agency Copernicus reported that August 2026 was the hottest month on record worldwide, with an average temperature of 62.53 °F (16.96 °C). This figure ties the previous global high set in July 2023 and is about 1.65 °C above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the 1.5 °C threshold of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Copernicus data, which extends back to 1940, shows that the eight warmest months on record have all occurred since July 2023. In the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the June-August period averaged 74.37 °F (23.54 °C), making it the hottest summer in the contiguous states since the Dust Bowl era.
"It is now time to stop acting surprised that our warming planet keeps getting warmer. This is occurring exactly as forecast by scientists literally decades ago," said Texas A&M climate scientist Andrew Dessler in an email.
"Our climate system is really operating well outside the range we would have expected just a decade ago," added Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead for Copernicus.
Scientists emphasized that while the current El Niño contributes to the heat surge, the primary driver remains the accumulation of greenhouse gases from fossil-fuel combustion. Imperial College London climate scientist Friederike Otto said the El Niño adds only about one to two-tenths of a degree Celsius, with the bulk of warming coming from human emissions.
The month also tied a record for the warmest ocean temperatures, and August 22 set a new high for sea surface temperature. Researchers warned that continued warming will increase the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, storms, floods and wildfires.
"Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, the pollution this causes will keep baking our planet, and extreme heat will keep smashing all-time records," said United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell.
Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather noted that the pattern of breaking long-standing temperature records suggests an accelerating impact of anthropogenic climate change, and projected that 2026 could be surpassed as the warmest year by 2027 if the strong El Niño persists.