According to the EU’s climate monitoring service, increasing El Niño conditions in the Pacific contributed to the world’s waters reaching their highest recorded temperatures in July.
Last month, the average sea surface temperature (SST) outside of the world’s polar regions increased.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, last month’s temperatures were 1.47C higher than the projected pre-industrial normal, making it the joint second-warmest July on record worldwide.
Oceans Record Hottest July
In the meanwhile, June and July were the warmest months in Western Europe’s history, and the region’s severe wildfires were fueled by persistently hot and dry weather.
In other news, the UK is expected to see its fifth heatwave of the year this week as ongoing dry weather puts more strain on water resources and may result in the formal declaration of drought in more locations.
In most of the tropical Pacific, where El Niño conditions are forming and are expected to intensify in the upcoming months, sea temperatures were abnormally high.
El Niño Adds to Global Heat
When paired with human-caused global warming, El Niño, a natural weather phenomena in the Pacific, may bring temperature surges and more severe weather.
Sea level rise is the most significant impact of ocean warming. The thermal expansion of saltwater may be responsible for around one-third of the sea level increase that scientists have seen so far. That sea invades island nations and low-lying beaches.
Why Ocean Warming Matters
With record-breaking temperatures in June and July, with some regions suffering their third or fourth heat wave since May, Western Europe is going through an extraordinary stretch of intense heat.
In June and July, the average temperature in western Europe was 2.16C to 2.79C above average, which was the highest for the two months. According to Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, “July 2026 was the third consecutive month of exceptional heat in Western Europe.”
According to her, dry soils limited the region’s capacity for natural cooling, and persistent high-pressure systems trapped heat over the area. She said, “This is an obvious illustration of how climate change is exacerbating heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another.”
Wildfires Spread Across Western Europe
While soil moisture levels were significantly lower in most of western Europe than they were during the region’s catastrophic drought in 2022, France, Spain, parts of Germany, and the UK had abnormally low rainfall and soil moisture.
The rivers that have been most negatively impacted by the very below-average water levels. Which have been abnormally low in certain places the Seine, Rhine, and Danube.
Aquatic ecosystems, river traffic, energy production, water supply, and agriculture are all more negatively impacted by low flows.
UK Faces Continued Drought Pressure
Massive wildfires raged over western Europe last month, with “exceptional activity” in terms of the area burnt, smoke, and emissions produced due to the extended hot and dry weather.
According to Laurence Rouil, head of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, “climate change is increasingly bringing the kinds of hot, dry conditions that favor large, high-intensity wildfires in southern Europe while extending the fire season northward.”
According to him, smoke from larger flames travels more farther since it is produced in greater quantities and is injected higher into the atmosphere.
This implies that nations with comparatively infrequent wildfires may be more vulnerable to long-distance smoke pollution.
Meanwhile, the UK’s already-strained water resources are under more strain due to the protracted dry spell.
According to the Met Office, July was the driest it has been in England and Wales since records started 190 years ago.
If dry weather continue, the Environment Agency has issued a warning that additional parts of England may be classified as experiencing drought.
According to the most recent Met Office study on the UK’s climate, once-extreme weather is turning into the “new normal”.
What Happens Next?
The warmest day of the year in southern England is currently 4.5C warmer than it was between 1961 and 1990, according to its most recent estimate.
“Evidence shows the climate of the 20th century has now gone,” said Mike Kendon, a climate information scientist at the Met Office. “We are living in a time of historic and unprecedented change.”
El Niño may momentarily raise global temperatures, according to scientists. The average global temperature has increased by 1.4C since the late 19th century.
