People cool themselves with an ice-cold water bottle from a water station during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on July 2, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images North America
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Alex Wong/Getty Images North America
This summer has indeed been hotter than usual, with temperatures setting records globally, including in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the summer, spanning from June to August, was the hottest recorded in the Lower 48 states in 132 years.
Globally, August matched July 2023, marking the hottest month ever recorded, as reported by the Copernicus Climate Change Service from Europe.
According to Copernicus, August’s global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, a significant climate threshold set by countries in 2015. During this time, the Pacific Ocean experienced record high sea surface temperatures as the El Niño climate pattern started to form.
Francesca Guglielmo, a senior scientist with the Copernicus Climate Change Service, mentioned that while “every record is always shocking in a way,” these figures were anticipated. Scientists have been witnessing this trend for years.
Guglielmo emphasized the need for measures to mitigate these effects as much as possible.
Data from Copernicus indicates that August’s global temperatures averaged 62.53 degrees Fahrenheit.
“This is not just a regional anomaly,” said Alexander Gershunov, a research meteorologist from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. “The entire globe is experiencing a hotter climate. People in Europe, Japan, and other regions are all feeling the heat this summer.”
For the Lower 48 states, August’s average temperature was 75.6 degrees Fahrenheit, marking the warmest August on record. The average daytime high temperature also reached a record 88.6 degrees Fahrenheit, as noted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Additionally, drought conditions affected nearly 60% of the U.S. this summer.
“We will continue to hear about record-breaking heat repeatedly,” stated Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “We might even become a bit desensitized to it—if we haven’t already.”
Guglielmo highlighted the immediate impacts of these numbers, which include increased energy and cooling demands, more frequent droughts, warmer oceans, and a heightened risk of wildfires.
“These events create a series of consequences that affect people globally on a daily basis,” Guglielmo explained.
What is causing the heat?
The primary cause of this record-breaking heat is human-induced climate change.
“The main reason is climate change. Period,” emphasized Swain. “The earth is warming, has been warming, and continues to warm.”
Scientists like Swain are increasingly able to link heat waves directly to climate change.
“Whenever there’s an extreme or record-breaking heat wave, human-caused climate change contributes to it,” Swain pointed out.
El Niño developed over the summer amid this climate change context. This natural climate pattern occurs every few years, causing the equatorial Pacific Ocean to warm unusually, which then releases heat into the atmosphere, significantly impacting weather patterns and temperatures.
Gershunov from UC San Diego remarked, “[El Niño] is a natural pattern occurring in an unnaturally warming world.”
People walk across a pedestrian crossing under the scorching sun on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Tokyo.
Eugene Hoshiko/AP
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Eugene Hoshiko/AP
How does heat impact people?
This summer’s intense heat had severe consequences in Europe, where French authorities reported thousands of deaths. According to Copernicus data, Western Europe experienced its hottest summer on record.
In the United States, tens of millions of Americans faced extreme heat advisories or warnings from the National Weather Service.
Swain noted that it’s not just daytime heat that poses a problem; nighttime temperatures also remain elevated. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observed above-average nighttime temperatures across much of the contiguous U.S. this summer.
A study by the research organization Climate Central revealed that in July, people worldwide lost about 56 hours, or seven full nights, of sleep annually due to heat.
“That’s when your body should recover,” Swain said. “The overnight heat can be even more dangerous than daytime heat because there’s no opportunity for a reset cycle.”
Scientists expect September temperatures to remain above average, according to the NOAA report, with a significant risk of wildfires across parts of the Northwest and Southern U.S. Swain and other climate scientists assert that these record-breaking temperatures will persist unless there is a reduction in fossil fuel emissions, the primary driver of climate change.
“We need to bend that carbon curve,” Swain remarked. “While we’ve made progress with green energy, we haven’t advanced enough in other areas. We’re not on the path we need to be on.”
