Abu dhabi: Earth just had the hottest August on record, according to monthly reports from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Service (C3S), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NASA. The Northern Hemisphere experienced its warmest summer from 1 June to 31 August 2026, while the Southern Hemisphere had a near-record warm winter.
According to Emirates News Agency, global sea surface temperature reached an all-time observed high in August, with El Ni±o conditions fuelling record temperatures across vast areas of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The Arctic and Antarctic each had below-average sea ice extent during the month.
El Ni±o was a significant driver of the climate in August. It is now firmly established and is expected to intensify into a very strong event in the coming months, with substantial impacts on rainfall and temperature patterns well into 2027, as reported by WMO's latest El Ni±o Update.
El Ni±o influenced global tropical cyclone activity in August and contributed to heavy rainfall and floods in some countries. Meanwhile, other regions faced drought, with El Ni±o conditions favoring the intensification of seasonal wildfires across Indonesia, as reported by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).
Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), indicated that August was the joint warmest month ever recorded, tied with July 2023. The global average surface air temperature was 1.65°C higher than the estimated pre-industrial baseline.
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information noted that the global surface temperature in August 2026 was 2.38°F (1.32°C) above the 20th-century average-the warmest August in the 1850-2026 record. All ten of the warmest Augusts on record have occurred since 2016.
Record-high August temperatures were primarily observed across Greenland, Africa, and parts of Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Canadian Arctic oceans, as well as extensive areas of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.