Average global temperature was 1.49 °C above the pre-industrial era, according to the Copernicus observatory
February 2026 was the 5th hottest February ever recorded on the planet, according to the European climate monitoring service C3S (Copernicus Climate Change Service, the European Union’s climate observatory). The global average temperature was 1.49 °C above the pre-industrial era (1850-1900), used as a reference for climate patterns before the emission of greenhouse gases.
The data is based on the ERA5 suite, which brings together billions of measurements from satellites, ships, planes and weather stations around the world. The average air temperature on the planet’s surface was 13.26 °C in February, 0.53 °C above the average recorded between 1991 and 2020 for the month.
The result follows the trend observed at the beginning of the year. January 2026 in 5th position among the hottest months on record, despite cold episodes in Europe.
According to the report, February was marked by extreme weather events, with intense rains and floods in several regions. Western European countries such as France and Spain recorded exceptional rainfall, which caused flooding and damage in several areas. A similar situation was observed in parts of Africa and Oceania, including Australia, Mozambique and Botswana.
The strategic climate manager at ECMWF (European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), Samantha Burgess, stated that the events observed in the month show the growing impacts of climate change. According to her, “the extreme events of February 2026 highlight the growing impacts of climate change and the urgent need for global action”.
Europe recorded significant thermal contrast in the period. While regions of the west, south and southeast experienced above-average temperatures, areas of northern and eastern Europe, such as Fennoscandia, the Baltic countries and northwest Russia, faced colder conditions.
Outside the European continent, temperatures were above average in areas of the United States, northeastern Canada, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. Regions such as Alaska, Greenland and northern Russia experienced colder conditions.
The monitoring also showed changes in the oceans and polar ice caps. The average sea surface temperature in February was 20.88 °C, the 2nd highest ever recorded for the month. In the Arctic, sea ice extent was 5% below the historical average, the 3rd lowest level ever measured in February.
Considering the northern hemisphere winter (December 2025 to February 2026), the global average temperature was 0.51 °C above the 1991-2020 average, the 5th highest value ever observed for the period.
