Earth hit its hottest August on record, driven by human-caused climate change and a strong El Nino, according to Copernicus. The month also helped make the Northern Hemisphere summer the hottest scientists have measured. The average global temperature was 1.65 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, far above the Paris agreement threshold. Scientists warned that more record heat, extreme weather, and damage to daily life are likely unless fossil fuel burning stops.
A young woman cools off under a misting system at Parc de Bercy during a heat wave in Paris, France, Aug. 14. EPA-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — Earth cooked to its hottest month on record in August, blowing far past a key climate threshold, due to the dangerous double whammy of human-caused climate change and a supersized El Nino, according to the European climate service Copernicus.
August's sizzle also helped push the globe and the United States to swelter through the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer scientists have measured.
Last month the world averaged 62.53 degrees Fahrenheit (16.96 degrees Celsius), which technically was one-hundredth of a degree Celsius more than the all-time global mark set in July 2023, but because that's also the uncertainty level, it's considered a tie, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead for Copernicus.
