This summer isn’t breaking heat records — yet. Wait until El Nino kicks in, scientists say
Wildfires are burning in North America and Europe. Deadly heat waves have parked over cities and the world’s oceans are the hottest ever recorded for this time of year. A strengthening El Nino is forecast to be off-the-charts, spiking…
Summer 2026 is not yet shattering temperature records, according to climate scientists. While wildfires rage in North America and Europe and the oceans have reached their hottest levels for this time of year, the summer has only reached the third-hottest status so far, behind 2024 and 2025. However, a combination of human-induced global warming and a powerful El Nino may push 2026 into the record books by the end of the year.
Currently, there is a 35% chance that 2026 will surpass 2024 as the hottest year on record, according to climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth. This probability has been steadily rising since March, when it was just 7%. Even if 2026 does become the hottest year on record, it is highly likely that 2027 will surpass it, potentially by a significant margin.
Climate scientist James Hansen, a former top NASA climate scientist and one of the most influential figures in climate science, predicts that 2026 will surpass 2024 by the end of the year.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
