February 2026 Ranked Fifth Warmest on Record at 1.49 Degrees Above Pre-Industrial

February 2026 recorded a global average surface air temperature of 13.26 degrees Celsius, 1.49 degrees above the estimated 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, making it the fifth warmest February on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Western Europe experienced extreme flooding from atmospheric rivers while the Arctic recorded its third-lowest sea ice extent for February.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, reported that intense storms and atmospheric rivers brought record rainfall and widespread flooding to France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Severe flooding also affected Australia, Mozambique and Botswana. The average surface air temperature for February 2026 was 0.53 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 baseline for the month. The warmest February on record remains 2024. Arctic sea ice averaged five per cent below the monthly average, ranking third lowest on record, with sea ice in the Greenland Sea reaching a 22-year high in a regional contrast.

ECMWF Strategic Lead Samantha Burgess described February 2026's extreme events as highlighting the growing impacts of climate change. European temperatures showed strong regional contrasts: western, southern and southeastern Europe recorded above-average temperatures while Fennoscandia, the Baltic States and northwest Russia experienced cold conditions, making European average land temperature one of the three coldest in 14 years. The average sea surface temperature for February 2026 was the joint second-highest on record for the month, tied with February 2025, and 0.18 degrees below the January 2024 record.

Antarctic sea ice extent was close to average for February 2026, in sharp contrast to the 25-33 per cent below-average extents recorded over the previous four years. The summer minimum likely occurred on February 22, near the middle of the 48-year range. The episode underscores the global pattern of escalating climate extremes: Copernicus data shows persistent above-average global temperatures across every month of recent years, with record-breaking regional events reflecting the uneven but intensifying physical consequences of continued greenhouse gas accumulation.

Key figure — 1.49 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — global average temperature anomaly for February 2026