August is established as the hottest month in history globally
The recent month of August has left a worrying mark on international climate records. According to the latest bulletin from Copernicus, the European space program’s climate monitoring service, this period has officially become the warmest month recorded globally, reaching an average surface temperature of 16.96 ºC.
This figure exceeds the previous record set in July 2023, placing the temperature 0.85 ºC above the 1991-2020 average and 1.65 ºC above pre-industrial levels. It is the first time since November of last year that the critical threshold of 1.5 ºC of global warming has been exceeded again.
A summer of extremes for Europe
Western Europe has experienced its hottest summer on record, with a thermal anomaly of 2.54 ºC above the average, surpassing the historical maximum set in 2003. At a continental level, it ranks as the third hottest summer, only behind the records of 2022 and 2024.
- Persistent heat waves since the month of May.
- Widespread drought that severely affected major European rivers such as the Rhine, the Danube, and the Vistula.
- Direct impact on the continent’s economy and ecosystems.
Alarming records in the oceans
The warming phenomenon was not limited to the atmosphere. The oceans also marked unprecedented figures during August. The average sea surface temperature reached 21.07 ºC, matching the records from March 2024. In addition, a record global daily temperature of 21.11 ºC was detected in waters outside of extrapolar regions.
Data shows how climate change is driving extremes in both the atmosphere and the oceans. Populations, economies, and ecosystems around the world are increasingly feeling the impact of these conditions.
Samantha Burgess, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Marine heatwaves, particularly intense on the Atlantic coast and the western Mediterranean, are added to the influence of the El Niño phenomenon in the tropical Pacific, consolidating a warming trend that continues to challenge global climate stability according to reports from Alofoke Deportes.
