Oceans break high-temperature record in warmest February marked globally

Marine high occurs during what was also the hottest February on record, marking ninth straight month with such a milestone for respective month.

Ocean temperatures hit a record high last month, which was also the warmest February on record globally, scientists in the European Union have said.

The average global sea surface temperature stood at 21.06 degrees Celsius (69.91 degrees Fahrenheit) in February, surpassing the previous record of 20.98C (69.77F) set in August 2023, in a dataset that goes back to 1979, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the average air temperature in February was 13.54C (56.4F), 1.77C (3.18F) warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month. It marked the ninth consecutive month that was the warmest on record for the respective month of the year.

Earlier, January had also been recorded as the warmest first month of the year, surpassing the previous warmest January in 2020, as per C3S’s records going back to 1950.

Last month, after scientists warned of the hottest January on record as the world continued a run of exceptional heat fuelled by climate change, C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said, “Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.”

February 2024 was the warmest February on record according to @CopernicusECMWF
⁰1.77°C warmer than pre-industrial
⁰9th record breaking month in a row⁰ ⁰Global temperatures for the past 12 months are the highest on record, at 1.56°C above pre-industrial
⁰#ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/bYrcm7nKky

— Dr Sam Burgess