August 2026 saw global average surface air temperatures hit 16.96°C, making it the joint-hottest month on record, according to new data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
This was 1.65°C above the estimated pre-industrial level, and 0.85°C above the 1991–2020 average, the data showed. It was also the first month since November of last year where global average temperatures were 1.5°C above the pre-industrial baseline.
‘A remarkable month’
“August 2026 was a remarkable month in the global climate record,” commented Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at ECMWF.
“Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for Western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans. The impacts of these conditions are increasingly being felt by communities, economies and ecosystems across the world.”
The last time temperatures reached this high was in July 2023, with the period from June to August 2026 also jointly the warmest boreal summer on record, matching that of 2024.
Sea surface temperatures also saw record highs during August, with the average temperature across extra-polar oceans (between 60°S and 60°N) coming in at 21.07°C in August, the highest level recorded to date for that month. This beat the previous August record of 20.98°C, which was set in 2023.
European temperatures
On a regional basis, average temperatures in Europe stood at 20.26°C for the month, making it the fourth-warmest August on record in the continent. In Western Europe, however, a new record high was set, surpassing the previous record set in 2003.
‘Much of the region and large parts of central and eastern Europe also saw widespread dryness in August, in some cases persisting since May, with severe drought conditions reported in France, the UK, Hungary, Romania and Serbia,’ C3S noted. ‘Across the dry regions, major European river flows were exceptionally low, including – from west to east – the Rhine, Danube, Southern Bug and Dnieper experiencing exceptionally low flows.’
Elsewhere, Arctic sea ice extent ranked 12th lowest for the month of August, while Antarctic sea ice ranked fourth lowest for the month. As of the end of August, Arctic sea ice was the 13th lowest for that point in the year. Read more here.
