The month of April 2026 recorded the second-highest ocean surface temperatures ever measured in seas outside the polar regions, with record highs logged across vast stretches of the tropical Pacific linked to powerful marine heatwaves.
The global average surface air temperature for the month stood at 14.89°C — some 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels — making it the joint third-warmest April ever recorded worldwide, according to findings from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, reports RTE.
Across Europe, the average land temperature was 8.88°C, though the continent experienced stark regional contrasts. Much of south-western Europe, including Spain, sweltered through its warmest April on record, while temperatures across eastern Europe fell below the seasonal norm.
For the continent as a whole, it ranked as the tenth warmest April on record. April also proved drier than usual across western and central Europe, where a persistent high-pressure system dominated conditions, reports RTE.
By contrast, many parts of eastern and south-eastern Europe — including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, portions of Spain and Italy, the Maghreb coast, and the Caucasus — experienced above-average rainfall and elevated soil moisture levels. Wetter-than-normal conditions were also recorded across the north-eastern and central United States, Canada, northern Mexico, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, southern China, Japan, parts of Brazil, southern Africa, and New Zealand.
Samantha Burgess, climate strategy lead at ECMWF, noted that “sea surface temperatures were near record levels with widespread marine heatwaves, Arctic sea ice remained well below average, and Europe saw sharp contrasts in temperature and rainfall; all hallmarks of a climate increasingly shaped by extremes,” reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
