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April 2026 recorded the second-highest global sea surface temperatures outside polar regions and the third-warmest April on record.
This was driven by intense marine heatwaves in the equatorial Pacific and emerging El Niño conditions.
Global surface air temperature reached 14.89°C, 0.52°C above the 1991-2020 average.
Arctic sea ice fell to its second-lowest April extent.
April 2026 witnessed the second-highest average global sea surface temperatures (SST) on record for all oceans outside the polar regions, according to the latest update from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ (ECMWF) Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
It was also the third-warmest April across the world. Intense marine heatwaves in the equatorial Pacific Ocean pushed SST in the region to record-breaking levels.
The global average surface air temperature in April 2026 was 14.89°C. This was 0.52°C more than the 1991-2020 average and 1.43°C above the pre industrial average (1850-1900). The warmest April month was in 2024 and the second warmest in 2025.
In Europe temperature anomalies showed a wide variation. Southwestern regions of the continent experienced above average temperatures, while most of eastern Europe was under colder than average conditions.
Western and central Europe was also much drier than normal because of a persistent anti-cyclone over the region. Anti-cyclones are regions of high atmospheric pressure with sinking air that leads to hot and dry conditions on the surface below.
In contrast, many parts of eastern and southeastern Europe, including United Kingdom, Iceland, Ireland, some parts of Spain, Italy and the Caucasus, experienced above average precipitation during April.
Wetter than normal conditions in April 2026 were also witnessed in the northeastern and central United States, Canada, northern Mexico, Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, southern China, parts of Brazil, Japan, southern Africa and New Zealand. Southeastern United States, central Asia, Madagascar, Australia and some regions in South America were much drier than normal during the month.
“In the Arctic, the average sea ice extent in April was about 5 per cent below average, ranking the second lowest for the month, slightly less than the April record set in 2019 (6 per cent below average),” according to a press release by C3S.
The global average SST for the month was 21°C across the extra polar oceans, the second highest on record. “SSTs reached record highs for the month across a broad region from the central equatorial Pacific to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, corresponding to ‘strong’ marine heatwave conditions,” C3S noted in the statement.
The global daily average SST between 60°S-60°N latitudes (extra polar oceans) increased gradually throughout April and moved closer to the record levels in 2024. This reflected the transition to the El Niño conditions in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, C3S experts observed.