The world's oceans hit their hottest ever recorded temperatures for July, partly fuelled by developing El Niño conditions in the Pacific, according to the EU's climate monitoring service. The average sea surface temperature (SST) outside the world's polar regions - between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south - was 20.96C last month, beating the previous high of 20.89C, set in 2023. Last month was the joint second-warmest July globally on record, with temperatures 1.47C above the estimated pre-industrial average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Meanwhile, Western Europe experienced its hottest ever June and July, with prolonged hot and dry conditions fuelling extreme wildfires across the region. Elsewhere, the UK is braced for its fifth heatwave of the year this week, as persistent dry weather puts further pressure on water supplies and could see more areas officially declared in drought. What is El Niño and why could it mean record temperatures?
Rhine falls to record low levels as drought strains Europe's rivers Around Europe, sea surface temperatures in July reached record highs along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, contributing to widespread strong and severe marine heatwaves. Sea temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the tropical Pacific, where El Niño conditions are developing and forecast to strengthen in the coming months. El Niño is a natural weather pattern in the Pacific that combined with human-driven global warming can cause temperature spikes and more extreme weather.
Oceans are a vital regulator of the climate, absorbing most of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions and producing half of Earth's oxygen. The greatest effect of ocean warming is on sea level rise. As seawater warms it expands, and this thermal expansion accounts for roughly a third of sea level rise recorded by scientists to date.
That water encroaches on low-lying coasts and island nations. Hotter seas are also driving longer and fiercer marine heatwaves, which have bleached coral reefs on a mass scale and decimated kelp forests and fisheries. Warmer ocean surfaces also evaporate more heat and moisture into the air, intensifying tropical storms and loading them with heavier rainfall.
Western Europe is experiencing an exceptional run of extreme heat - with record-breaking temperatures in June and July, and some areas facing their third or fourth heat wave since May. The average temperature across western Europe for June and July was 21.62C - 2.79C above average and the highest for the two-month period. "July 2026 was the third consecutive month of exceptional heat in western Europe," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
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