World records hottest August with 2024 poised to be warmest year: EU climate agency

BRUSSELS -- August 2024 has tied with August 2023 as the hottest August on record globally, with the average surface air temperature hitting 16.82 degrees Celsius, 0.71 degrees Celsius above the average August temperature from 1991 to 2020, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The data also showed that August 2024 was 1.51 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels, marking the 13th time in the past 14 months that the global average surface air temperature has surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold set by the Paris Agreement.

Meanwhile, year-to-date data indicates 2024 is on course to become the hottest year on record, as the global average temperature for January to August was 0.7 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, the highest on record for this period.

C3S stressed that the average temperature anomaly for the remainder of the year would need to drop by at least 0.3 degrees Celsius to avoid surpassing 2023 as the hottest year -- a highly unlikely scenario based on historical data.

"During the past three months of 2024, the globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the hottest boreal summer on record. This string of record temperatures is increasing the likelihood of 2024 being the hottest year on record," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

Burgess emphasized that the temperature-related extreme events seen this summer foreshadow more severe and destructive climate impacts unless urgent measures are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.