This summer was hot. August shattered global heat records

If you thought this summer felt hotter than normal, you were right. Temperatures around the world were unusually warm, surpassing several heat records, including in the U.S.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week announced that for the Lower 48 states, this summer– from June to August– was the warmest in 132 years of record-keeping.

Globally, August ties with July 2023 as the hottest month on record, according to the European climate service, Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Climate Did climate change cause this heat wave? Most likely, and here's why In August, global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, according to Copernicus. That's a key climate threshold agreed to by countries in 2015 . Record high sea surface temperatures were also seen across the Pacific Ocean as the climate pattern El Niño began to develop.