August ties hottest month on record, EU monitor says

August effectively tied July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded globally, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said Thursday, as an unusually strong El Nino gained strength in the Pacific.

Copernicus said the global average air temperature in August was 16.96C, 0.01C above the previous monthly record set in July 2023. It said the narrow gap meant the two months should be treated as joint-highest.

The month capped an extreme June-to-August period marked by heatwaves and wildfires. Copernicus said western Europe had its hottest summer on record, surpassing 2003, while the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the contiguous United States also had its hottest summer on record.

Ocean temperatures also reached record highs for three straight months. Simon van Gennip of Mercator Ocean International said some marine heatwaves had lasted more than 60 days. Copernicus said global sea surface temperatures set a new all-time daily high in August and equalled the hottest month for oceans ever recorded.

Copernicus said the main driver was global heating from burning coal, oil and gas, with rising Pacific temperatures linked to El Nino adding to the heat. NOAA said Thursday there was a 75 percent chance the current El Nino would exceed the strength of previous El Nino events dating back to 1950.

Copernicus said El Nino's influence was already being felt in Indonesia, where a long, intense dry season has fed wildfires on Borneo. Scientists said El Nino's warming effect could help push more global temperature records higher after the event peaks.

EuroMomo estimated that Europe saw more than 32,000 excess deaths between mid-July and mid-August. An AFP analysis of Copernicus data found that regions home to about 900 million people lived through the hottest July ever observed.