August 2025 was the third-warmest August on record globally, with an average temperature of 16.60 degrees Celsius, according to the EU climate change service Copernicus.
The month was 0.22 degrees cooler than record-breaking Augusts in 2023 and 2024, but 1.29 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The 12-month period from September 2024 to August 2025 was 1.52 degrees warmer than the 1850 to 1900 average.
South-west Europe experienced its third major heatwave of the season, accompanied by severe wildfires, said Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which runs the EU service.
With oceans remaining unusually warm, these events underline both the urgency and the need to adapt to more frequent and intense climate extremes, she added.
A particularly strong heatwave affected much of the Iberian Peninsula and south-west France from August 8 to 18, while northern and north-eastern Europe remained below long-term averages.
Overall, the summer of 2025 was Europe's fourth-warmest on record, with temperatures 0.90 degrees above the 1991 to 2020 reference period. Western and south-eastern Europe, as well as Turkey, were most affected.
Drought affected large parts of western and southern Europe, while localized heavy rainfall occurred in southern France, Italy and Germany. Outside Europe, parts of the United States and Canada also experienced dryness, while eastern Asia and South America saw more rainfall.
Copernicus regularly publishes data on the Earth's surface temperature, sea ice cover and precipitation. The findings are based on computer-generated analyses that incorporate billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
