What made August 2026 hottest month ever on Earth while it was raining in India?

From record-warm oceans to an intensifying El Nino, several climate factors helped make August an extraordinary month for global heat. And India felt it during its monsoon season.

In Short

• August 2026 tied with July 2023 as hottest month globally at 16.96°C
• Temperature was 1.65°C above pre-industrial average, driven by climate change
• Western Europe faced record summer heat, wildfires, and heatwaves

August 2026 was not just another warm month like the many that have come and gone in recent years.

It tied with July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded globally, with the planet’s average surface air temperature reaching 16.96°C, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The temperature was 1.65°C above the estimated pre-industrial average.

The situation was clearly alarming and did not come out of the blue, bringing us to the obvious question; what made August so hot?

CLIMATE CHANGE LAID THE FOUNDATION

The biggest reason behind the searing month is the long-term warming caused by human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.

The greenhouse gases have raised the planet’s baseline temperature, making extreme heat more likely, and it's only getting worse, with no end or mitigation in sight.

But August also had another climate factor that played into the hot month. El Nino.

A strong El Nino was developing in the tropical Pacific, where unusually warm ocean water releases additional heat into the atmosphere.

Copernicus said sea surface temperatures across the extra-polar oceans reached a record 21.07°C in August.

The tropical Pacific was particularly warm, with El Nino conditions expected to strengthen further. This combination of a warmer planet and a strong natural climate pattern helped push temperatures to exceptional levels.

HEAT EVERYWHERE

The extreme heat was not just felt, or driven by a singular region.

Copernicus found that global land temperatures were also the highest recorded for an August.

Western Europe had its hottest summer on record, with repeated heatwaves, and consequent blazes across multiple countries.

Parts of France, Italy, the Balkans and central Europe were several degrees above their usual August temperatures.

The US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) separately confirmed that August was the warmest month in its global record, while the June-August period was also the warmest such three-month period on record.

INDIA'S OWN RECORD-BREAKING AUGUST

India, a nation that is now accustomed to abnormally hot temperatures, was part of the same global heat spell, even though the month was dominated by the southwest monsoon.

The India Meteorological Department said August 2026 was India’s warmest August since records began in 1901, with the average temperature reaching 28.01°C, which was 0.67°C above normal.

More alarming was the fact that the average minimum temperature was a record 24.36°C, 0.68°C above normal.

In other words, the problem was not simply hotter afternoons as India’s nights stayed unusually warm, leaving less time for people, buildings and the land to cool.

It's a fact that August 2026 was hot. But with its numerous heatwaves, wildfires, and unseasonal above-normal temperatures, it also offered a preview of what could soon become regular across the world.

Record ocean heat, a strengthening El Nino and a steadily warmer climate combined to push global temperatures to an extraordinary level. And the trend has showed no signs of easing up next year.

- Ends