Scientists say August was Earth's hottest month they've measured
August 2023 was recorded as the hottest month in history, continuing a trend of record-breaking global temperatures. Scientists attribute this to the combined effects of human-caused climate change and El Nino, warning that these disruptions are now impacting daily life.
Why it matters
The consistent breaking of heat records highlights the accelerating pace of climate change and the failure of global efforts to stay within the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold.
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.
Climate Did climate change cause this heat wave? Most likely, and here's why 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.
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