Last month researchers recorded the second-highest sea surface temperatures since records began, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Thursday.
Record temperatures were registered across large parts of the tropical Pacific, accompanied by intense marine heatwaves, the service said, adding that last month was also the third-warmest April on record globally with an average surface air temperature of 14.89 degrees Celsius, 0.52 degrees above the 1991–2020 average for the month.
"April 2026 adds to the clear signal of sustained global warmth," said Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
"Sea surface temperatures were near record levels with widespread marine heatwaves, Arctic sea ice remained well below average, and Europe saw sharp contrasts in temperature and rainfall; all hallmarks of a climate increasingly shaped by extremes."
According to the service's report, there were significant temperature variations across the Northern Hemisphere in April. Much of south-western Europe experienced well-above-average temperatures, with Spain even recording its warmest April on record. In contrast, Eastern Europe was particularly cold.
The month also saw extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones in the Pacific, floods in the Middle East and droughts in southern Africa. Flash floods hit parts of the Arabian Peninsula, while some regions of Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria experienced flooding and landslides.
In the Arctic, the average sea ice extent was about 5% below average, making it the second-lowest on record for the month of April, just behind the record set in 2019 of 6% below average.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service regularly publishes data on global surface temperatures, sea ice and precipitation, based on computer-generated analyses that integrate billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations worldwide.
