Global sea surface temperatures in July set a new record amid the developing and expectedly intensifying El Niño, while Western Europe endured its hottest June to July period on record.
On 10 August 2026, Reuters reported that the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) revealed the global average sea surface temperature in July reached a record high for that month. The average sea surface temperature outside polar regions, between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south latitude, was 20.96 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous July record of 20.89 degrees Celsius set in 2023.
The tropical Pacific Ocean showed widespread abnormal high temperatures amid an ongoing El Niño event, which is expected to intensify over the coming months. El Niño can impact global weather patterns, causing heatwaves, heavy rainfall, droughts, and higher temperatures, signaling a worsening of global warming.
Additionally, waters surrounding Europe exhibited abnormal high temperatures, with sea surface temperatures along the Atlantic Ocean and western Mediterranean Sea reaching record highs in July, resulting in severe to extreme marine heatwaves in multiple areas.
Western Europe faced its hottest June to July period on record after experiencing continuous heatwaves since May. The average temperature over these two months was 21.62 degrees Celsius, 2.79 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, breaking the previous record set in 2022.
Samantha Burgess, Head of Climate Strategy at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, stated that July 2026 marked the third consecutive month of abnormally severe heat in Western Europe.
Source: AFP