August 2026 Was the Hottest Month Ever Recorded: Copernicus Data

August 2026 matched July 2023 as the hottest month on record, with global temperatures 1.65 °C above pre-industrial levels. June 2026 and July 2024 were the second-hottest June and July. The heat occurred during a strong El Niño, record sea-surface warmth, the warmest Western-European summer, a U.S. summer hotter than the Dust Bowl, caused about 35,000 excess deaths in Europe, and sparked unprecedented wildfires, including France’s first documented fire cloud.