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The Copernicus Climate Change Service is an EU-funded organization that provides global climate monitoring data. The service publishes monthly and seasonal climate reports by analyzing temperature, sea level and atmospheric data obtained from satellite and ground-based observations.
The European Union's (EU) Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced global temperature data for August 2026.
According to the data, the global average surface air temperature in August increased to 16.96 degrees. This value was 0.85 degrees above the August average between 1991-2020.
Last month, the global temperature was 1.65 degrees above the average of the pre-industrial period covering the years 1850-1900. Thus, in August, the monthly temperature increase exceeded the 1.5 degree threshold for the first time since November 2025.
The temperature measured in August 2026 exceeded July 2023, which was measured at 16.95 degrees, and became the hottest month on record.
THE HOTTEST SUMMER
The summer season, covering the June-August period, was 0.69 degrees above the 1991-2020 average on a global scale, making it the hottest summer on record with 2024.
The average temperature in August across Europe was measured as 20.26 degrees. This value increased by 1.10 degrees above the 1991-2020 average, making August 2026 the fourth hottest August recorded across the continent.
The average summer temperature in Europe was measured 1.17 degrees above normal. Thus, the summer of 2026 became the third hottest summer on record on the continent, after 2024 and 2022. Western Europe experienced the hottest summer on record, surpassing the 2003 record.
RECORD IN SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
The average sea surface temperature of the oceans outside the polar regions also increased to 21.07 degrees in August, reaching the highest level measured for this month. Rapidly strengthening El Niño conditions in the Pacific were effective in high temperatures.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that the global average surface air temperature of August 2026 is 16.96 degrees, which is 0.85 degrees above the 1991-2020 August average. This month was the hottest month in historical records, and the summer became the hottest summer with 2024.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that the global average surface air temperature of August 2026 is 16.96 degrees. This value was 0.85 degrees above the 1991-2020 August average and 1.65 degrees above the pre-industrial period average, breaking a historical temperature record. Sea surface temperatures also broke a record, reaching 21.07 degrees.

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