NOAA and WMO Confirm August 2026 Was the Warmest August on Record

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information reported on 11 September 2026 that the global surface temperature in August 2026 measured 1.32 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average, making it the warmest August in the 1850-2026 record. The figure edged past the previous joint records set in 2023 and 2024, according to NOAA’s monthly climate summary, by roughly 0.08 degrees Celsius.

Record Ocean Heat

NOAA said global sea surface temperatures also reached an all-time observed high during the month, with unusually warm water spanning large areas of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean as El Nino conditions strengthened. The agency reported that the Northern Hemisphere experienced its warmest June-to-August summer on record, while the Southern Hemisphere recorded a near-record warm winter. Warmer oceans hold more energy for storms and evaporate more moisture into the atmosphere, factors climate scientists say contribute to more intense rainfall events even in seasons with fewer named storms.

A Persistent Pattern

According to NOAA, August 2026 marked the 48th consecutive August with global temperatures above the 20th-century average, meaning the last cooler-than-average August occurred in 1978. All ten of the warmest Augusts on record have now occurred since 2016, the agency said, underscoring a sustained long-term warming trend rather than an isolated monthly anomaly. NOAA compiles its monthly analysis using land and ocean temperature station data going back to 1850, a dataset also used by NASA and the WMO to cross-check global temperature trends.

Why It Matters

Record heat translates directly into real-world strain on water supplies, agriculture and public health, as reservoirs across the US Southwest and other arid regions showed sharply reduced levels through the summer of 2026. Persistent above-average global temperatures also raise the likelihood of more frequent extreme heat events, intensified droughts and stronger storms, giving added weight to the data WMO plans to present at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, in November.