World's oceans reach hottest temperature on record

Global average sea surface temperature hit 21.1°C in August, reflecting the accumulation of heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions as oceans absorb more than 90% of warming caused by fossil fuel combustion.

First covered Aug 24, 2026 · 5:49 AM PT · 1 article · no longer in the live window

World's oceans reach hottest temperature on record — Image via theguardian.com

Coverage

33d Guardian Environment World’s oceans hit hottest temperature on record in August — Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was 21.1C on Saturday, latest data finds The world’s oceans were hotter than ever previously recorded on…

More coverage from around the web

scmp.com Hottest ocean temperature recorded as ‘super’ El Nino forms | South China Morning Post

scientificamerican.com Earth’s oceans just hit their hottest temperature ever recorded | Scientific American

downtoearth.org.in Global ocean records hottest day ever

washingtonpost.com Earth is simmering in its hottest water temps on record, and that's bad for fish and us - The Washington Post

insurancejournal.com Highest-Ever Ocean Temperature Measured as Super El Niño Forms

Appeared in: 2026-08-25 (#15)

← Back to the brief