Brussels: The Copernicus Climate Observatory of the European Union announced that last August was the hottest August on record globally, and that Western Europe experienced its warmest summer since records began.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the observatory stated that the average global air temperature in August reached 16.96 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous record set in July 2023 by 0.01 degrees. This marks a significant milestone, as Western Europe experienced its “hottest summer ever.”

Samantha Burgess, climate strategist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) – the intergovernmental organization managing the Copernicus Observatory – emphasized the significance of these findings. She remarked: “August 2026 was an exceptional month in the history of the global climate.” She further noted that humans have not encountered such high temperatures for at least 100,000 years.

The Copernicus Observatory also highlighted that the period from June to August was the hottest on record globally, matching the temperatures recorded in 2024. This declaration comes shortly after the US National Weather Service reported the hottest summer in the United States since records began more than 130 years ago.