Global ocean temperatures hit a record high for July last month, while an extraordinary heat wave pushed Western Europe's average temperature for June and July to an all-time high.
The EU's climate monitoring service, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), released the findings Monday.
According to C3S, the average surface temperature of non-polar oceans — the belt between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude, excluding polar regions — reached 20.96 degrees Celsius in July, surpassing the previous July record of 20.89 degrees set in 2023 and marking the highest level ever observed for the month.
C3S said marine heat waves in waters around Europe, including the Atlantic and western Mediterranean, along with a developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific, contributed to the rise in sea surface temperatures.
Record-breaking heat also gripped land areas.
Western Europe's average temperature for June and July this year reached 21.62 degrees Celsius — 2.79 degrees above the 1991–2020 long-term average — surpassing the previous record for that period, set in 2022.
Samantha Burgess, head of climate strategy at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said an exceptional heat wave had gripped Western Europe for three consecutive months through July. She said persistent high pressure trapped heat over the region, while dry soils weakened natural cooling and pushed temperatures even higher.
"When soil dries out, it loses its natural ability to cool itself, allowing heat to build up more easily," Burgess said. "This is a clear example of climate change intensifying extreme heat, with heat waves and droughts increasingly amplifying each other."
According to C3S, precipitation and soil moisture levels in July fell well below normal across much of Western and Central Europe — including France, Spain, parts of Germany, Austria, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
River flows in the Seine, Rhine and Danube also dropped below long-term averages, adding strain to water supply, irrigation, river transport, ecosystems and energy production.
Looking at the entire Earth's surface — combining all continents, oceans and polar regions — July this year tied with 2024 as the second-hottest July on record.
The global average surface temperature in July stood at 16.90 degrees Celsius, 1.47 degrees above the pre-industrial baseline of 1850–1900.
The all-time record for a July global average surface temperature remains 16.95 degrees Celsius, set in 2023.
The January-through-July period this year ranked as the third-hottest such stretch on record, behind 2024 and 2025.
With August through December still ahead, the final ranking of 2026's annual average temperature in the historical record could yet change.
mokiya@heraldcorp.com
