August 2026: hottest month on record according to Copernicus
Quick Look
- According to the monthly report of the European Copernicus Observatory released on September 10, 2026, August 2026 was the hottest month on record globally, tied with July 2023, with an average temperature of 16.96 °C, 0.85 °C above the 1991–2020 average and 1.65 °C above pre-industrial levels.
- The June-August summer of 2026 was also the hottest on record globally, tied with 2024, breaking records in Western Europe and the oceans, according to Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The article refers to the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which the international community committed to limiting the rise in temperatures to +1.5°C by combating greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
For the deputy director of the European Copernicus service, Samantha Burgess, the figures spoke: “August 2026 was a remarkable month in the history of the global climate.” According to the latest monthly report from the European observatory, published Thursday September 10, the planet experienced, in August, the hottest month ever recorded since records began, all months combined, "tied with July 2023". The average air temperature across the globe stood at 16.96°C, “0.85°C above the average for the period 1991–2020” and 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels, which are the reference in the Paris agreement.
In this text, the international community committed, in 2015, to limiting the rise in temperatures to +1.5°C, by fighting against greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. A goal that is now uncertain, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The hottest summer on record
“The period from June to August 2026 was the hottest ever recorded on a global scale, tied with that of 2024,” further specifies the European observatory, which relies on data collected by a vast network of satellites. The third hottest summer ever recorded in Europe (behind 2024 and 2022), the summer of 2026 broke all temperature records on the western part of the continent, "exceeding the long-standing record set in 2003".
And this due to “a succession of exceptionally early, persistent and intense heat waves throughout the region” during these three months.
In the oceans, the global average temperature reached, in August, its highest value ever recorded, for all months combined, tied with 2024 (21.07° and 21.09°C respectively).
Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the hottest summer on record in Western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extreme events in both the atmosphere and oceans.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)
“The consequences of these conditions are increasingly being felt on populations, economies and ecosystems across the world,” warned Samantha Burgess in the press release accompanying the Copernicus report.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to +1.5°C will become increasingly difficult to achieve if current trends continue.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific measures are governments considering to respond to these new temperature records?
- How will these record temperatures affect future seasons and long-term climate forecasts?
- What is the precise impact of these heat waves on agriculture and food security in Western Europe?
