BRUSSELS — August was the joint-hottest month on record globally, official EU data finds, highlighting the worsening effects of global warming. Average temperatures worldwide temporarily soared to 1.65 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels last month, according to Copernicus, the Earth observation unit of the EU's space program. The only other time monthly global temperatures hit that level was in July 2023.
Copernicus said the record temperatures were "due to global heating from burning fossil fuels," combined with rising sea surface temperatures in the Pacific linked to a strong El Niño climate pattern. "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," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which carried out the research for Copernicus. The sweltering August capped a record-breaking European summer of heatwaves, wildfires and droughts, as planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions around the world continue to rise.
Global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities last year rose 0.7% to reach a record 54 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, the European Commission said Monday — an annual rate that would likely lock in 1.5 degrees of warming by the end of the decade. The United States led the upward trend, increasing its climate pollution by 2.2% in 2025. In China, the world's top climate polluter, emissions rose 0.1% in 2025, while in India they fell 0.2%.
The EU's emissions also fell by 0.2% in 2025, the Commission said. Copernicus' overall figures combine global air and sea surface temperatures. Global surface air temperatures in August hit 16.96C, the joint-hottest monthly temperature ever recorded and surpassing the 30-year average between 1990 and 2020 by 0.85C.
The average sea surface temperature was at 21.07C, also the joint-hottest on record. In Europe, August was the fourth-hottest on record, at 1.1C above the 30-year average. Overall, 2026 was Europe's third-hottest summer on record, and the hottest ever recorded in Western Europe.
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