The world's oceans recorded their hottest ever temperatures in July, with an average sea surface temperature of 20.96C outside the polar regions. This figure, reported by the EU's climate monitoring service, exceeds the previous July high of 20.89C set in 2023.
Developing El Niño conditions in the Pacific are partly fuelling these record ocean temperatures. El Niño is a natural weather pattern that, when combined with human-driven global warming, can lead to temperature spikes and more extreme weather events.
Globally, last month was the joint second-warmest July on record, with temperatures 1.47C above the estimated pre-industrial average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Sea temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the tropical Pacific, where El Niño conditions are forecast to strengthen.
Around Europe, sea surface temperatures reached record highs along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, contributing to strong and severe marine heatwaves. Western Europe also experienced its hottest June and July on record, with prolonged hot and dry conditions exacerbating extreme wildfires across the region.
The UK is preparing for its fifth heatwave of the year this week. Persistent dry weather is putting further pressure on water supplies and could lead to more areas being declared in drought.