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Samantha Burgess reports August 2026 as the joint-hottest month on record as global temperatures exceed 1.5C threshold

The European climate service Copernicus reported that August 2026 was the warmest August on record, tying with July 2023 for the hottest month ever recorded. Global temperatures reached 1.65 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold established in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, noted that these records were set despite the coming El Niño system not yet reaching full strength. Data from the Copernicus service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that the meteorological summer in the contiguous United States was the hottest on record, surpassing the 1936 Dust Bowl peak. Global sea surface temperatures also reached an all-time high for August, with August 22 setting a record for the hottest day in the world's seas. Climate scientists stated that while El Niño provides a temporary warming effect, the primary driver of these record-breaking temperatures is the burning of fossil fuels. The UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, stated that the extreme heat is impacting global transport, health systems, and food prices.

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