Copernicus said the record temperatures were “due to global heating from burning fossil fuels,” combined with rising sea surface temperatures in the Pacific linked to a strong El Niño climate pattern.
“Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans,” said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which carried out the research for Copernicus.
The sweltering August capped a record-breaking European summer of heatwaves, wildfires and droughts, as planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions around the world continue to rise.
Global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities last year rose 0.7% to reach a record 54 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, the European Commission said Monday — an annual rate that would likely lock in 1.5 degrees of warming by the end of the decade.
The United States led the upward trend, increasing its climate pollution by 2.2% in 2025.
In China, the world’s top climate polluter, emissions rose 0.1% in 2025, while in India they fell 0.2%. The EU’s emissions also fell by 0.2% in 2025, the Commission said.