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August 2025 Third-Hottest Month with Devastating Heatwaves and Wildfires Worldwide

Climate and Weather

BusinessHonor - Rising Temperatures & Fires Demand Climate Action

Business Honor
09 September, 2025

Rising temperatures and fierce fires highlight urgent need for stronger climate action.

August 2025 was the third hottest August ever globally, with strong heatwaves and fires consuming huge regions of the globe, with a feeling of urgency to act on climate change. Europe's climate watch agency, Copernicus Climate Change Service, recorded the record hike in temperature and its dangerous impact. Southwest Europe had its third major heatwave of the summer, and Spain and Portugal both grappled with widespread fires that forced evacuations of thousands of people. Spain itself was wracked by a 16-day heatwave that claimed more than 1,100 lives. Human-induced climate change made the hot, dry, and windy conditions 40 times more likely and intensified the fires, scientists have concluded.

Elsewhere outside Europe, a large portion of Asia, including Siberia, China, Japan, and the Middle East, also experienced temperatures much higher than usual. Britain, Japan, and South Korea each had their record-breaking summer, their respective national meteorological agencies reported. Oceans, which moderate Earth's climate by absorbing heat, also reached near-record levels in August. Warmer oceans cause more powerful weather like storms and floods, and so climate adaptation is just as crucial as emissions reduction, says climate lead for Copernicus Samantha Burgess.

August global temperatures were 1.29°C higher than in pre-industrial times, a reasonable margin and one that is already causing weather patterns to be disturbed throughout the world. The biggest temperature rises were seen in Western Europe, especially southwest France and the Iberian Peninsula.

Copernicus collects the data by pooling together billions of weather and satellite measurements, providing a complete picture of climate changes since 1940. The rising temperatures and fires underscore the urgent need to ramp up climate action to protect the world and humanity from worsening disasters in the near future.