August 2025 marked the third warmest August globally, according to the EU's climate service Copernicus. Although not as hot as the record years of 2023 and 2024, temperatures were still 1.29 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Europe experienced an average temperature of 19.46 degrees, with southwestern Europe facing the summer's third major heatwave, leading to widespread wildfires. The unusually warm oceans highlight the urgent need to reduce emissions and adapt to more frequent climate disasters.
August 2025: Third Warmest on Record Globally
August 2025: Third Warmest on Record Globally
August 2025 was the third warmest August month recorded globally, reports the EU's climate service Copernicus.
It wasn't as hot as the record years of 2023 and 2024, but still 1.29 degrees above the pre-industrial average, which is an estimate for the temperature during the period 1850–1900.
The average temperature in Europe was 19.46 degrees, and in southwestern Europe, the month brought the summer's third major heatwave, resulting in extensive wildfires.
"As the world's oceans are also unusually warm, these events underscore not only the urgency of reducing emissions but also the acute need to adapt to more frequent and intense climate disasters," says Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in a press release.