August hottest month ever recorded globally as huge El Nino emerges

Paris - Europe's climate monitor reported on Thursday that August was the hottest month ever recorded globally, with an unprecedented El Nino pattern intensifying. Temperatures across land and sea reached all-time highs in August, setting a new record for the hottest single month ever observed. The Copernicus Climate Change Service noted that global average air temperatures in August stood at 16.96C, surpassing the previous record set in July 2023 by just 0.01C.

The European Union's climate agency considered the two months to be tied for the highest temperatures, given the minimal difference.

Experts warned that the situation is far more extreme when compared to historical contexts. Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees Copernicus, stated that humans have not witnessed temperatures as hot as today for at least the last 100,000 years. The United Nations climate chief, Simon Stiell, echoed these concerns, emphasizing the urgency of the evidence presented by the soaring global temperatures.