August was joint-hottest month on record globally
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The gist
Copernicus says August 2026 tied July 2023 as the joint-hottest month on record, at 1.65°C above.
The reading puts global temperatures back above 1.5°C for the first time since November.
Background
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service publishes monthly global temperature data; its August 2026 bulletin found a global average surface air temperature of 16.96°C, 0.85°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the warmest August in its ERA5 dataset and the joint-warmest month across all calendar months, level with July 2023. Copernicus and Politico attributed the record to burning fossil fuels, and New Scientist cited an exceptionally strong El Niño amplifying existing warming. The month also marked the first time the global average exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels since November 2025.
How it unfolded
- Aug 2026Global average surface air temperature reaches 16.96°C, 0.85°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the warmest August in Copernicus' ERA5 record and the joint-warmest month across all calendar months, tied with July 2023.
- Aug 2026Average sea surface temperature for extra-polar oceans (60°S–60°N) hits 21.07°C, the highest on record for August and joint highest across all calendar months, on par with March 2024.
- Sep 10, 2026Copernicus publishes the data; outlets including BBC, Reuters, Euronews, Politico and New Scientist report the joint-hottest-month finding and the return above 1.5°C.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Copernicus reported the month as a 'remarkable month in the global climate record' and its first record-breaking month for global temperatures since January 2025.
- Analysts
- Politico reported the record-breaking temperatures were caused by burning fossil fuels, the EU's earth observation unit said, and highlighted the worsening effects of global warming.
- Expert
- Gareth Redmond-King of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said another 'warning siren' had sounded two months before the next UN climate summit, noting the glacier collapse in Tibet and Nepal and record harvest losses.
Still unverified
New Scientist's claim that humans have not experienced temperatures warmer than this summer in the past 100,000 years, attributed to Samantha Burgess at Copernicus, is a single-source statement not corroborated in the other retrieved material. NewsCord's note that two of three outlets skipped the record for global 'moistest' conditions is a media-coverage observation, not a Copernicus finding.