August was hottest month ever recorded globally, scientists say

The EU’s climate monitor said on Thursday that August was the hottest single month ever recorded globally, with ocean temperatures also reaching unprecedented highs as western Europe capped its warmest summer.

In response to the assessment by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the UN warned that until humanity weaned off fossil fuels, the planet would only push deeper into uncharted territory.

Copernicus observations go back to 1940 but other evidence – such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons – allow scientists to place today’s climate against a much longer historical context.

“Humans haven’t seen temperatures as hot as today for, arguably, at least the last 100,000 years,” Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees Copernicus, said.

Global average air temperatures in August were 16.96 degrees Celsius, Copernicus said – surpassing by 0.01 degree the previous all-time monthly record set in July 2023. Copernicus said it considered the two months joint highest given the narrow difference.

Scientists say that human activity – primarily the burning of coal, oil and gas – has warmed the planet by roughly 1.4 degrees since pre-industrial times and increased the severity and likelihood of extreme weather.