Hotest August Ever Recorded
August was the hottest across the planet ever recorded, while Europe experienced the most severe summer in its history, according to data released today by the European meteorological service Copernicus, which recorded an average air temperature of 16.96° Celsius, the highest since its records began in 1940.
The global average temperature in August was 1.65°C higher than the pre-industrial average, the Copernicus service also reported, well above the most ambitious limit set in the 2015 Paris climate agreement for the first time since November 2025.
Western Europe was beset by “a sequence of early, persistent and intense heat waves”, experiencing the hottest summer in its history, the Copernicus Centre confirmed.
