Copernicus: August 2026 was the hottest month on record

August 2026 was the hottest month on record, on a par with July 2023, as well as being the hottest August on record. This was announced by Copernicus, the EU’s satellite observation service. The global average temperature in August 2026 was 16.96 °C, 1.65 °C above the pre-industrial average for 1850–1900. It was also the first month since November 2025 to exceed 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The period from June to August 2026 was the hottest ever recorded globally, on a par with 2024.

According to an AFP analysis based on data from the European Copernicus programme, around 1.3 billion people experienced the hottest northern hemisphere summer on record between June and August. In 52 countries across all continents, the record for the average temperature over this period was broken: these included Italia, Spain, France and Switzerland, with the latter two countries exceeding the 1991–2020 average by more than 3 degrees. Furthermore, in eight European countries, at least 35,000 excess deaths or deaths directly linked to the heat were recorded between mid-June and the end of August.

El Niño, which is already particularly intense, is also driving temperatures even higher: nine countries across Central America and northern South America have recorded their hottest June–August period on record, whilst in Indonesia the heat and drought have affected nearly 100 million people, fuelling wildfires and a cloud of toxic smoke that has reached as far as Malaysia. In Africa, around 450 million people have been affected by record temperatures, with 18 countries experiencing all-time highs. The situation is particularly critical in Sudan, where low water levels in the Nile and delayed rains have exacerbated the agricultural and food crisis in a country already devastated by war.