(AA Photo)
Türkiye experienced a summer that was warmer than its long-term average but considerably cooler than recent record-breaking years, while much of Europe endured unprecedented heat, meteorological data showed.
According to the State Meteorological Service, the country’s average temperature in August was 25.7 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, making it the 16th-hottest August in 56 years of records. June and July were also warmer than normal, ranking as the 11th- and 19th-hottest months of their kind, respectively.
Globally, however, August 2026 was the hottest August on record, 0.85 degrees above the 1991-2020 average and 1.65 degrees above pre-industrial levels, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The 2026 summer tied 2024 as the hottest on record globally.
Western Europe recorded its hottest summer ever, with temperatures 2.54 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average. France, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Austria and Switzerland all experienced their hottest summers on record.
Climate scientist Mikdat Kadıoğlu said an unusual atmospheric pattern diverted hot North African air toward Western Europe and cooler polar air moved toward Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, leaving Türkiye closer to seasonal norms. Kadıoğlu also warned that exceptionally warm seas could prolong summer and increase the risk of sudden heavy rainfall and flooding in Türkiye during autumn.
