BRUSSELS – August 2026 was the hottest month ever recorded globally, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said Thursday.

The global average surface air temperature reached 16.96 degrees Celsius, slightly above the previous record of about 16.95 C set in July 2023. It was 0.85 C above the 1991-2020 average for August and 1.65 C above the estimated 1850-1900 pre-industrial level.

It marked the first month since November 2025 in which the global monthly average temperature exceeded the pre-industrial level by more than 1.5 C.

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Western Europe also experienced its warmest summer on record. A succession of exceptionally early, persistent and intense heatwaves since May pushed the June-August average temperature above the previous record set in 2003.

Ocean temperatures also reached record levels. The average sea surface temperature across the extra-polar oceans between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude reached 21.07 C in August, the highest ever recorded for the month.

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Sea surface temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the tropical Pacific, where El Nino conditions are strengthening and could develop into one of the strongest events on record in the coming months.

The records showed that climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and oceans, with growing impacts on communities, economies and ecosystems worldwide, said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.