The hottest August · The road to COP31

In August 2026 the average air temperature at the Earth's surface was 16.96 °C, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). That is 0.85 °C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.65 °C above the pre-industrial level of 1850-1900.

Within 0.01 °C, it matched July 2023 as the warmest month in the Copernicus record. It was the first month above 1.5 °C since November 2025.

For August as a whole the sea-surface average was 21.07 °C. That is the highest for any August, and level with the highest monthly value in the record, set in March 2024.

Sources

• S-01 · Copernicus C3S, Surface air temperature for August 2026 (retrieved 5 October 2026)
• S-02 · Copernicus C3S Climate Pulse, daily sea-surface temperature 60°S-60°N, ERA5 (data file, retrieved 5 October 2026)
• S-03 · Copernicus C3S, August 2026 bulletin (sea-surface temperature section)

Corrections to this story are listed on the last page.