August ties record for world’s hottest month ever, scientists say

According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Service, August 2026 reportedly was the hottest month ever recorded globally, driving up global temperature to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists have said climate change plays a significant role in the landslides and flash floods that killed hundreds of people in Nepal and China’s Tibet.

Temperatures more than 1.5C above pre-modern are significant because when measured as a multi-decade average, that level of warming represents nearly 200 countries pledged to stop under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The records further declared that 1.65C was hotter than the planet’s average temperature in the 19th century before humans started burning oil, coal and gas on an industrial scale. The data confirmed western Europe is surfacing from its most extreme heat season to date, with many regions suffering low river flows and severely depleted soil structure.

In this connection, C3S said that the world’s oceans outside the polar regions also recorded their equal-highest marine surface temperatures for any month.

Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for medium-range forecasts said: “We've ​really seen the impact across Europe of how maladapted we are, with roads melting, train lines buckling, schools closing, hospitals completely overwhelmed, and record ‌wildfires for ⁠the time of year.”

Furthermore, record-high temperatures were spurred by the development of the EI Nino weather which is forecast to strengthen in the coming months.