Samantha Burgess

Force in Play

Lead author of the August 2026 Copernicus climate assessment

The Earth just recorded its joint-hottest month since modern measurements began. Copernicus, the European Union's climate monitoring service, reported Thursday that August 2026 tied July 2023, with a global average surface air temperature of 16.96°C — 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels.

Updated 2 hours ago