Third month of record heat

The European Union's Copernicus climate change panel has stated that last August was the warmest on record globally, and also the third month in a row to establish such a record after the hottest ever June and July.

Estimates suggest that August was 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial norm for the 1850-1900 period. Attempting to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C is a core pledge of the 2015 Paris international climate change accord signed by 196 countries.

In Europe, August was wetter than usual across large areas of Central Europe and Scandinavia, causing flooding, while droughts caused wildfires in France, Greece, Italy and Portugal.