Brussels, 9 September 2024
August 2024 was the joint-warmest August globally in the ERA5 dataset, tied with August 2023, with an average surface air temperature of 16.82°C. Last month was 0.71°C above the 1991-2020 average for August. This concludes the warmest global average temperature for the boreal summer (June to August) on record, at 0.69°C above the 1991-2020 average for these three months, exceeding the previous record set in 2023 (0.66°C).
According to ERA5, which provides hourly temperature data from 1940, August 2024 was 1.51°C above the pre-industrial level. This was the 13th month since July 2023 in which the global-average surface air temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
August 2024 contributes to keeping this year on track to be the warmest year on record, with the global mean temperature anomaly for January-August 2024 0.70°C above the 1991-2020 average. This is the highest anomaly on record for this period and 0.23°C warmer than the same period in 2023.
According to Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S):
“During the past three months of 2024, the globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the hottest boreal summer on record. This string of record temperatures is increasing the likelihood of 2024 being the hottest year on record. The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
For Europe, the average temperature for August 2024 was 1.57°C above the 1991-2020 average for August, making the month the second warmest August on record for Europe after August 2022, which was 1.73°C above average. Temperatures were most above average over southern and eastern Europe, but below average over north-western parts of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Iceland, the west coast of Portugal, and southern Norway.
Looking at the June-August period, this summer was the hottest on record in Europe at 1.54°C above the 1991-2020 average, surpassing the previous record set in 2022 (1.34°C). While it was the hottest summer in Europe overall, the data show the variability across the region from record high temperatures in southeastern Europe and northern Fennoscandia to below-average temperatures in Iceland, Ireland, northern United Kingdom, and southern Norway.
The average sea surface temperature (SST) for August 2024 over 60°S–60°N was 20.91°C. This is the second highest on record for the month, and only 0.07°C below the August 2023 record.
Read the August 2024 Surface air temperature update in full.
Regarding hydrological variables, August 2024 was drier than average over most of continental Europe including southern UK and Ireland, the Alps, the Balkans, northwestern Russia and eastern Fennoscandia, with areas in the south and east experiencing drought and wildfires.
However, other regions experienced wetter-than-average conditions. In particular, Iceland, northern UK and Ireland, much of Fennoscandia, the northern seaboard of continental Europe as well as western Russia and Türkiye saw above-average precipitation, in some cases, leading to floods and damage.
Read the August 2024 Hydrological variables update in full.
Arctic sea ice extent in August was significantly lower than for the previous three years. At 17% below below the 1991-2020 average, August 20024 ranked fourth lowest for this period in the 46-year satellite record. Sea ice concentration anomalies were below average across virtually all of the Arctic Ocean.
Meanwhile, the average Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2024 was 7% below average. Similar to the previous month, this is the second lowest extent for August in the satellite data record, behind the -12% value observed in August 2023.
Read the August 2024 Sea ice update in full.
August 2024 was the joint-warmest August globally in the ERA5 dataset, tied with August 2023, with an average surface air temperature of 16.82°C. Last month was 0.71°C above the 1991-2020 average for August. This concludes the warmest global average temperature for the boreal summer (June to August…
Source – Copernicus Climate Change Services