August 2026 warmest month ever recorded, with a global average temperature of 16,96°C (Copernicus)

With a global average temperature of 16.96 °C, August 2026 was the joint warmest month ever recorded, tied with July 2023. Last month also saw the average sea surface temperature (SST) over the extra-polar ocean reach a record high at 21.11ºC, due to global heating from burning fossil fuels and rapidly increasing SSTs in the equatorial Pacific associated with strong El Niño conditions. as reported by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

With a global average surface air temperature 1.65°C higher than the estimated pre-industrial baseline, this August was the first month to exceed 1.5°C since November 2025. The month saw the joint highest monthly average SST ever recorded across the extra-polar ocean…