The European climate agency reported that August was a joint warmest month on record, marking another milestone in the long-term rise in global temperatures. The agency attributed the exceptional warmth to the ongoing influence of human-driven climate change together with the increasing impact of the current El Niño event.
Agency scientists said that the concurrence of a long-term warming trend and the natural variability associated with El Niño amplified global temperatures during August. While climate change raises the baseline temperature year after year, episodic climate phenomena such as El Niño can temporarily boost global averages, the agency noted.
Experts have long warned that such combinations raise the likelihood of exceptional heat and related impacts. Record monthly highs underscore the broader trend of rising temperatures documented over recent decades and are consistent with projections that warming will continue unless greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed.
The agency's finding adds to a growing body of monitoring data used by policymakers, researchers and the public to assess climate risks. Observations of record warmth are expected to feature in international discussions on adaptation and mitigation as governments and communities consider how to respond to increasingly frequent and intense climate extremes.