August 2026 ties record for hottest month ever on Earth
If it felt hotter than normal this summer, new data shows there is a reason. Record-hot oceans and a strengthening El Niño pushed global temperatures to historic levels.
The global temperature was nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit above the estimated preindustrial average, and the United States felt the heat.
Summer 2026 was hot, and it turns out it didn't just feel that way, according to the data. August 2026 tied the record for the hottest month ever measured globally, matching a benchmark set during the powerful heat of July 2023.
The global average surface air temperature reached 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. That made August 2026 the hottest August on record and tied it with July 2023 as the warmest of any month in data dating to 1940. The difference between the two months was less than 0.01 of a degree Celsius.
A graphic showing the August 2026 temperature record breaking the July 2023 record.
August was also 0.1 of a degree Fahrenheit warmer than July 2026, an unusual reversal because July is typically the planet’s hottest month. Copernicus found only four other years since 1940 when August was warmer than July: 1945, 1951, 1955 and 1985.
The record was driven by a combination of long-term global warming from burning fossil fuels and rapidly rising ocean temperatures associated with a strengthening El Niño in the Pacific.
August’s average global temperature was 2.97 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.65 degrees Celsius, above the estimated preindustrial average from 1850 to 1900. It was the first month to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels since November 2025.
A single month above that threshold does not mean the world has formally crossed the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. That target is measured over a longer period, but monthly spikes illustrate how close global temperatures are getting to that level.
Record heat spreads from land to sea
Global sea surface temperatures and extreme temperature anomalies from August 2026.
The oceans provided much of the fuel for August’s extraordinary warmth.
The average sea surface temperature across the extra-polar ocean, between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south, reached 69.9 degrees Fahrenheit. That was the highest August average on record and tied March 2024 for the highest monthly ocean temperature measured during any month.
On Aug. 24 and 25, the daily global sea surface temperature reached a record 70 degrees Fahrenheit, surpassing the previous high set in March 2024.
“What stands out is how widespread and persistent the warmth has been, from the atmosphere to the oceans,” AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Tyler Roys said. “Now we’re seeing a rapidly strengthening El Niño developing on top of that unusually warm global background. That combination could have significant implications for weather patterns around the world through the fall and winter.”
Ocean temperatures have set daily records for their respective calendar dates since June 19, according to Copernicus. Large areas of the central and eastern tropical Pacific experienced record warmth and strong to severe marine heat waves as El Niño intensified quickly and much earlier in the year than is typical.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern marked by unusually warm water in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. It can temporarily raise global temperatures on top of the longer-term warming trend and reshape weather patterns around the world.
Record-high August ocean temperatures were not limited to the equatorial Pacific. Exceptional warmth was also measured across parts of the northern Pacific, Southern Hemisphere oceans, subtropical North Atlantic and the seas surrounding Europe.
Another record follows historic US heat this summer
The global milestone came one month after July 2026 became the hottest month ever recorded in the contiguous United States.
The Lower 48 states averaged 76.9 degrees in July, breaking records dating to 1895 and surpassing the extreme heat of July 1936 during the Dust Bowl. Multiple heat domes sent temperatures soaring across the country, while drought and dry soil allowed the ground to heat more efficiently.
PUEBLO, COLORADO - JULY 1: People watch from a police check point as the Aspen Acres fire burns on July 1, 2026 in Pueblo, Colorado. Over 35,000 acres and more than 100 structures have burned in the Aspen Acres fire, one of several blazes that are currently burning across the state after a warm and dry winter. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Four states in the United States had their record warmest summers, according to NOAA Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) data from June, July and August.
Utah, Colorado and New Mexico experienced their hottest summers in 132 years of recorded weather. Arizona tied for its record warmest summer. These states experienced temperatures more than 5 degrees higher than the historical average.
The Lower 48 states averaged 76.9 degrees in July, breaking records dating to 1895 and surpassing the extreme heat of July 1936 during the Dust Bowl.
The back-to-back records reflect a longer-term warming trend. An AccuWeather climate study found average temperatures in the U.S. have risen by about 0.5 of a degree per decade over the past 70 years.
“Record heat remains rare, but it is happening more frequently,” AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said following the July record. “As average temperatures rise, the baseline that these extremes build from is getting warmer. That means it doesn’t take as much for a period of extreme heat to push temperatures into record territory.”
Western Europe records its hottest summer
August capped the hottest summer on record across western Europe, surpassing the previous benchmark from 2003.
Exceptionally hot weather in May and June was responsible for the heat-related deaths of at least 2,700 people in England and Wales, according to British research out Monday. (Photo Credit: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA-EFE)
The region’s average temperature from June through August reached 71.0 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4.6 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. Nearly all of England, Wales and Belgium, along with much of France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, experienced their hottest summer in Copernicus’ ERA5 dataset.
Repeated heat waves affected the region beginning in May, while widespread dryness contributed to severe drought in France, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
Water levels also fell sharply along several major European rivers, including the Rhine and Danube, affecting ecosystems, agriculture and transportation.
Infographic with world map showing the regions that experienced in 2026 their hottest June to August period, based on an AFP calculation using data from the ERA5 model of the European Copernicus program (Graphic by Valentin RAKOVSKY and Omar KAMAL / AFP via Getty Images)
Globally, June through August 20236 tied the summer of 2024 as the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer on record. Copernicus ranked 2026 as the second-hottest year on record through August, behind 2024, but the developing El Niño could drive temperatures even higher during the final months of the year.
“In many ways, this story is just getting started,” Roys said. “El Niño is still rapidly strengthening and can reshape the jet stream and shift storm tracks, rainfall and temperature patterns across large portions of the globe. The impacts of this event could extend well beyond the Pacific in the months ahead.”
Report a Typo
