00:01August was the hottest month on record tied with July 2023, according to data published
00:09on Thursday by the European Climate Observatory Copernicus. The global average air temperature
00:14was 1.65 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference value. August was the first month since
00:23November 2025 to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, the limit set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
00:31The extra-polar oceans also broke a record for their average temperature last month,
00:36due to global warming Copernicus points out. The average temperature reached 21.07 degrees Celsius
00:43in August, the highest ever recorded for that month, surpassing the record set in 2023.
00:50For the European continent specifically, these figures mark the end of the hottest summer ever
00:56recorded in Western Europe, with prolonged, intense and early heat waves beginning as early as May.
01:03For the region, the summer of 2026 broke the record set during the same period in 2003.
01:10The continent also suffered from widespread drought, with exceptionally low water levels in rivers such
01:17as the Rhine, the Danube, the Vistula, the Rhône and the Po. The drier-than-average conditions also led to
01:23numerous wildfires in several regions across Europe.
