Summer 2026 breaks global temperature records stoking fears of accelerating climate change
Thu 24 September 2026
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Summer 2026 has broken global temperature records, equalling 2024 as the hottest June-August period ever recorded globally. Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and NOAA confirms that a potent mix of human-induced climate change and an intensifying "Super El Niño" drove unprecedented atmospheric and ocean heat.
August 2026 was the joint-hottest month ever recorded in human history (tying July 2023), with global averages at 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels.
Higher temperatures occurred around the world but varied according to region. Western Europe (including UK) experienced its warmest summer on record. The UK Met Office confirmed it was the UK's hottest summer since records began in 1884, logging 40 days above 30°C and triggering widespread drought. Climate scientists calculated that human activity made the UK heat 130 times more likely.
The rate at which records are falling has stoked fears among climatologists that feedback loops are intensifying. August 2026 marked a rapid return of global temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold. Because global temperatures historically lag the peak of an El Niño cycle by several months, Berkeley Earth says that 2027 has a 95% chance of being even hotter, threatening severe coral bleaching, agricultural failures, and weakened land carbon sinks.
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