World had its hottest August on record during sizzling summer, study says

Name: 'Hottest week so far in America'
Uploaded: 2023-08-21T21:06:55-04:00
Duration: 2 min 9 s
Description: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen warns that this week could be the "hottest week so far in America" this summer. Excessive Heat Warnings cover the midsection of the country.

Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen warns that this week could be the "hottest week so far in America" this summer. Excessive Heat Warnings cover the midsection of the country.

02:09

FILE: 'Hottest week so far in America'

Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen warns that this week could be the "hottest week so far in America" this summer. Excessive Heat Warnings cover the midsection of the country.

NOAA’s latest monthly global report found that the average global land and ocean surface temperature in August 2023 ranked the month as the warmest August in the 174-year global climate record.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for the month was 2.25 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century global average of 60.1 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NOAA.

"Not only was last month the warmest August on record by quite a lot, it was also the globe’s 45th-consecutive August and the 534th-consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average," said Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Chief Scientist.

FILE - Miguel Garcia of Tijunga wipes the sweat off of his face after jogging at Hansen Dam Recreation Area in Pacoima.

FILE - Man wipes the sweat off of his face after jogging.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)

Breaking the data down by region, Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Arctic had their warmest Augusts on record, NOAA said. Europe and Oceania had their second-warmest August on record.

The month also wrapped up the warmest meteorological summer for the Northern Hemisphere on record at 2.59 degrees Fahrenheit above average, NOAA added. Additionally, the Southern Hemisphere was the warmest meteorological winter on record at 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit above average.

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"Global marine heat waves and a growing El Niño are driving additional warming this year, but as long as emissions continue driving a steady march of background warming, we expect further records to be broken in the years to come," Kapnick noted.

PACOIMA, CA - AUGUST 3, 2021 - - Felisa Benitez, 86, wipes the sweat from her brow while taking a break from cleaning her stand-up electrical fan on the porch of her home where temperatures reached 99 degrees at the San Fernando Gardens Public Housing in Pacoima on August 4, 2021. Benitez, who lives alone, tries to only use fan to cool herself even though she has an AC unit, to the right, at her place. She is on a limited budget and uses the AC sparingly to avoid a huge electrical bill that she cannot afford to pay. Benitez, who has lived at the gardens since the 90s, spends a great deal of her day seated in the shade of her porch. According to Los Angeles County Coroners and Medical Offices, hundreds of heat-related deaths reviewed by the Times showed the victims included seniors who died alone in apartments without air conditions, or with the thermostat off. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

FILE - An elderly woman wipes the sweat from her brow.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)

Worldwide, the period from January to August ranked as the second-warmest on record at 1.55 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 57.3 degrees Fahrenheit. NOAA noted that the chance that 2023 will become one of the two warmest years on record stands at 95%.

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For the contiguous U.S. specifically, the country saw its 9th-warmest August in the 129-year record.