Earth Just Recorded Its Hottest August on Record

Did August Feel Extra Hot to You?

According to this weather nerd, it felt like we were stuck in a never-ending heat advisory all summer long. And guess what? The data backs me up. That feeling of prolonged, excessive heat wasn’t just in our heads. The facts show that the heat really was as relentless as it felt.

European Copernicus Climate Change Service said that “August 2026 was the warmest August on record globally, tying with July 2023 as the warmest month ever recorded. Summer 2026 (June to August) was also the joint-warmest boreal summer globally, matching 2024.”

The Weather Channel said that “NOAA's August global climate report found August 2026 topped 2023 and 2024 as Earth's hottest August, with the planet's temperature 2.38 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average.”

Let Earth's hottest August sink in for a moment.

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But why?

Strengthening El Niño
Oceans Reached Record Temperatures

Besides the Heat

Those record-breaking ocean temperatures are no small thing, and with little relief in sight, it's something to monitor, as it could cause major impacts on marine life.

Jane Lubchenco, an oceanographer and former chief of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Weather Channel that the record was “very troubling. An ocean this warm destabilizes weather patterns and threatens food security, economic prosperity, and marine life,” Lubchenco said in an email. “A warmer ocean is not our friend.”

It also impacts the fishing industry, coral reefs, and so much more.

Former NOAA chief Rick Spinrad told The Weather Channel that the ocean is the planet's thermostat, so “as long as we depend on a healthy ocean for our safety, prosperity and wellbeing, these record-breaking sea surface temperatures portend even greater challenges for us all.”

And ... The Weather Channel is even hinting that 2026 may be a record year.

Mary K. – Weather Forecaster

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi

KEEP READING: Get answers to 51 of the most frequently asked weather questions...

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF