FILE-Tourists carry umbrellas as they visit the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall July 01, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
August’s temperatures pushed the world and the United States to the hottest month measured by scientists, The Associated Press reported, citing Copernicus, a European climate service.
Last month, global monthly ocean temperatures tied a March 2024 all-time record for warmest month recorded, while Aug. 22 set a record for hottest day recorded in the world's seas, Copernicus noted.
August recorded as hottest month
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According to The Associated Press, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday said for the first time, summer in the Lower 48 states was hotter than during the peak of the devastating Dust Bowl in 1936.
June through August 2026 in the United States averaged 74.37 degrees, nearly four tenths of a degree warmer than the mark set 90 years earlier.
RELATED: Global ocean temperatures hit record high for this time of year
In the United States, August topped heat records by over half a degree Fahrenheit, averaging 75.58 degrees and the average daytime high was a sweltering 88.56 degrees, also a record. July also had record heat in the U.S.
Copernicus noted that globally, this past summer tied, with 2024, for the hottest on record, according to Copernicus.
August was nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the longer-term 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit baseline set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement. According to Copernicus data, the eight hottest months on record have all been from July 2023 on.
Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather tells the AP that the fact August set a record for hottest month recorded is an indication that human-caused climate change is expanding.
Additionally, Hausfather also shared with the AP that it’s probable that 2026 might eclipse 2024 as the warmest year recorded and it's likely 2027 surpasses both years, possibly reaching higher temperatures.
Separately, the AP noted that some scientists admit that El Nino plays a role in the record high temperatures recorded in August. A larger factor is the heat-trapping gases radiated as people burn coal, oil and natural gas.
El Nino refers to a natural, temporary and occasional warming of part of the Pacific that shifts weather patterns across the globe, often by moving the airborne paths for storms.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which cites comments from an Earth climate scientist and weather data from Copernicus. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.