World ocean temperatures hit extreme new record for July
July also saw its second-highest air temperatures on record this year
July 2026 recorded the highest sea surface temperatures ever observed in the world's oceans, outside polar regions, according to the European Union's Copernicus climate monitoring service. The average sea surface temperature in July was 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.7 degrees Fahrenheit), marking a new extreme record. This July also tied with July 2024 for the second-highest average global air temperature on record, with a global average of 16.9 degrees Celsius (62.42 degrees Fahrenheit), just below the record of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit) set in July 2023.
The record-high temperatures were attributed to El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which typically bring warmer ocean temperatures. Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, noted that persistent high-pressure systems over Western and Central Europe led to drier-than-average soil conditions and widespread drought.
This increasing heat and drought have amplified wildfires across Europe. The situation is a clear demonstration of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought reinforcing one another.
Written by urgent.news from Scientific American's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
