August – and the Summer of 2023 – Hottest on Record, Says NOAA

A seabiard along the shoreline of Monterey Bay

In a continuation of the trend in heat records that have been thus far broken in 2023, planet Earth experienced its warmest August on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and this year’s meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere was the hottest on record, as was this year’s meteorological winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

NOAA made the statement as it issued its monthly global climate advisory on Thursday.

Record-warm temperatures covered approximately 13% of the earth’s surface in August 2023, the highest percentage since recordkeeping began in 1951.

Four continents – Asia, Africa, North America, and South America – each saw their warmest August on record while Europe and Oceania – which encompasses Australia and neighboring island nations including New Zealand – each had their second-warmest August on record, and it bears mentioning that it is wintertime in Oceania.

The August global surface temperature was 2.25 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees, which is .52 degrees above the previous record set in August 2016 and the third-highest monthly temperature anomaly of any month on record, according to NOAA.

“The average global land and ocean surface temperature in August was 2.25° F (1.25° C) above the 20th-century average of 60.1° F (15.6° C), ranking as the warmest August in the 174-year global climate record, NOAA said in the report, adding that “[F]or the fifth-consecutive month, the global sea surface temperature hit a record high for the month… [and] August 2023 set a record for the highest monthly sea surface temperature anomaly (1.85° F, or 1.03° C, higher than normal) of any month in NOAA’s climate record.”

Meanwhile, the average temperature meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere was the hottest on record, with temperatures that were 2.59° F (1.44° C) above average. In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological winter was the warmest winter on record at 1.53° F (0.85° C) above average.

[Editor’s note: We would be remiss in not reminding our readers that the “record” only encompasses less  than 200 years or so of Earth’s 4.5 billion year existence.]

(Photo: Accura Media Group)