August 2021 was Earth’s 6th warmest on record, NOAA says

(NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information)

August 2021 ranked as the sixth warmest on record across the globe, according to a report released Tuesday by NOAA. This followed the Earth's record-hottest month in July, continuing a warming trend that keeps 2021 on pace for one of the 10 warmest years in records dating to 1880.

The average temperature across all of the planet's land and ocean surfaces in August was 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees, making it the sixth-hottest August in the 142-year NOAA record.

There is a greater than 99% chance that 2021 will rank among the 10 warmest years on record, according to the Global Annual Temperature Rankings Outlook from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Regionally, Asia had its second-warmest August on record – behind only 2016 – while Africa had its third warmest. North America and South America both had an August that ranked as the ninth warmest. Europe had its coolest August since 2008, though the month still had warmer-than-average temperatures.

Nine of the 10 warmest Augusts on Earth have all occurred since 2009.

(NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information)

Near-record warmth in summer 2021

June through August 2021 was the Northern Hemisphere’s second-hottest climatological summer on record, tied with 2019 and only 0.07 degrees cooler than summer 2020.

Globally, the three-month period was the Earth’s fourth warmest on record at 1.62 degrees above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees. Nine of the 10 warmest June-to-August periods have occurred since 2010.

Through the first eight months of the year, the average global temperature ranked as the sixth warmest on record at 1.48 degrees above the 20th-century average of 57.3 degrees. In the Northern Hemisphere, the January-to-August period was the sixth warmest, while the year-to-date ranked as the ninth warmest in the Southern Hemisphere.