Global temperatures hit record high in August, experts warn it will be worse in the future

On June 24, 2026, the signboard of a pharmacy in Toulouse, a city in southern France, showed that the temperature was as high as 48°C when a heat wave hit. (AFP file photo)

First submission 9-10 22:50

Update time 9-11 06:04

The European Climate Monitoring Unit pointed out on the 10th that August this year was the hottest month in the world on record, and ocean temperatures also hit new highs. Experts warned that as the unprecedented El Nino pattern intensifies, the situation may be worse in the future.

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Global land and ocean temperatures soared to record highs in August this year, and an extreme summer filled with heat waves and wildfires set the hottest records in Western Europe and the continental United States.

The "Copernicus Climate Change Service" pointed out that the global average temperature in August this year was 16.96°C, which was 0.01°C higher than the single-month highest temperature record in July 2023; due to the small difference, these two months can be tied as the hottest months in history.

Samantha Burgess, director of climate strategy at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees the Copernicus Climate Change Service, told reporters: "It can be said that humans have never experienced temperatures as hot as today in at least the past 100,000 years."

In addition, the global sea surface temperature in August this year hit a record high in a single day and tied the record for the hottest month in the ocean. Simon van Gennip of France's Mercator Ocean International said that the unusually high temperatures this summer have also caused ocean temperatures to reach record highs for three consecutive months; marine heat waves in some sea areas even lasted for more than 60 days, highlighting the "abnormality and persistence" of these high temperatures and heat conditions.

Even so, climatologists warn that the extreme high temperatures in August this year are just a preview, and the worst has yet to come; it is expected that after the El Niño phenomenon reaches its peak, 2027 will become a record-breaking year. Burgess pointed out that 2026 will be no different. The double blow of climate change and the El Niño phenomenon means that many records will continue to be broken in the next six months.