August ties world record for hottest month as global heat tops 1.5°C

August 2023 tied with July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded, according to the EU's climate service. The heat was largely attributed to climate change and the influence of El Niño, which pushed temperatures higher across the Pacific. The month's average temperature was 1.65C above pre-industrial levels, exceeding the 1.5C threshold that countries agreed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Although surpassing this limit once does not mean it is permanent, it indicates a trend towards breaching it. August also marked the warmest summer in western Europe, following a deadly heatwave in 2003. Dr. Samantha Burgess, a strategic lead for climate at Copernicus, described August as a remarkable month in the global climate record, with its impacts increasingly felt by communities, economies, and ecosystems worldwide.

Scientists emphasized that the combination of record air temperatures, ocean heat, and Europe's exceptional summer demonstrated how climate change was now causing extreme weather globally. The world's oceans reached their highest temperature on record during August. UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell stated that the evidence was irrefutable, highlighting humanity's impact on the climate through its reliance on fossil fuels.

The current El Niño event, which is still strengthening, could become one of the most powerful on record, potentially pushing global temperatures higher over the coming year. The intense summer heat in western Europe, including the UK's hottest summer since records began in 1884, had severe consequences, disrupting schools, straining hospitals, impacting food production, and fueling fires and droughts.

Dr. Clair Barnes, an extreme weather researcher, rejected the notion that such summers were now the "new normal" and warned that until fossil fuel emissions are halted, records will continue to tumble and extreme weather events will worsen faster than our ability to adapt.