theecologist.org
'A brutal reminder'
Scientists have confirmed that August was the world’s joint hottest month on record, with global temperatures 1.65C above pre-industrial times. Last month tied with July 2023 for the hottest calendar month in the temperature records, as well as the hottest August ever recorded for the world, scientists from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said. Western Europe has experienced its warmest summer on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2003, Copernicus said. Burning Heatwaves in August continued a run of extreme heat that began in May, severe drought conditions have hit Britain, France, Hungary, Romania and Serbia, and major rivers from the Rhine and Danube to the Dnieper experienced exceptionally low flows, the Copernicus scientists said. Globally the month was 1.65C above the estimated average for the period 1850-1900, a time before humans began burning fossil fuels at scale – releasing greenhouse gases that will continue to further heat the planet until emissions are brought to zero overall, which is known as net zero. The scientists said August marked a return to temperatures above a key threshold of 1.5C higher than pre-industrial averages, the first time they have breached the figure since November 2025. Under 2015’s global Paris...
