August declared the hottest month ever recorded

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on POLITICO or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: August was the joint-hottest month ever recorded globally, with average temperatures reaching 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels, according to Copernicus
• The only comparable month was July 2023. Copernicus attributed the record to heating from burning fossil fuels, combined with high Pacific sea surface temperatures linked to a strong El Niño

🔭 The context: Global surface air temperatures hit 16.96°C, exceeding the 1990–2020 average by 0.85°C, while sea surface temperatures reached 21.07°C — both joint records
• Europe recorded its fourth-hottest August at 1.1°C above the 30-year average, its third-hottest summer overall, and the hottest ever in Western Europe

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Atmosphere and ocean are setting records simultaneously, which Samantha Burgess of ECMWF says shows climate change driving extremes across both systems
• Global emissions reached a record 54 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2025, an annual rate that would likely lock in 1.5°C of warming before the decade ends

⏭️ What's next: Emissions trends remain divergent: the US rose 2.2% in 2025 and China 0.1%, while India and the EU each fell 0.2%
• The August record caps a European summer of heatwaves, wildfires and droughts

💬 One quote: "Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans" — Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

📈 One stat: 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels — matched only once before, in July 2023.

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