Global temperatures hit record highs as El Niño strengthens: Report

August 2026 marked the warmest month on record globally, transcending the previous highs set in 2023 and 2024, according to a report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The planet's average surface air temperature soared to 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit, marking a remarkable 1.65 degrees Celsius - or 1.65 degrees Celsius, 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit - departure from the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the warmest such departure ever recorded.

This surpasses the 1.5-degree Celsius warming limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, a threshold climate scientists deem critical for averting the worst impacts of human-induced climate change.

The report underscores how El Niño conditions, now in their strongest phase, are exacerbating the extreme heat. Global sea surface temperatures hit an all-time high of 69.98 degrees Fahrenheit on August 22, the highest value ever recorded. This surge in sea surface temperatures, coupled with the warmest summer on record for Western Europe, demonstrates how climate change is driving extreme weather patterns across both the atmosphere and oceans.

The United States experienced its hottest summer ever, surpassing records set in 1936 and 2021. Meanwhile, record-breaking sea surface temperatures and escalating marine heatwaves have intensified across the world's oceans. These conditions, driven by a strengthening El Niño, are already impacting communities, economies, and ecosystems globally, as noted by Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the C3S.