Science & health
August ties the global monthly heat record as El Niño strengthens
August matched July 2023 as the hottest month recorded globally, according to the EU's climate service, at 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels. The report attributes the heat to human-caused warming combined with a strengthening El Niño and says western Europe also experienced its hottest summer. A single month above 1.5°C does not mean the long-term Paris threshold has permanently been breached. Researchers expect El Niño's strongest temperature influence over the coming year.
Editorial summary · Publisher article
What matters
- Copernicus describes simultaneous stress from exceptional atmospheric and ocean temperatures.
- The report distinguishes short-term natural variability from the continuing warming driven by emissions.
Why this made the edition
Substantive evidence supports this distinct development; selected for reader relevance and importance after comparison with published history.
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