October 2026 was the warmest October ever. The average surface temperature was 15.35°C. 2026 is also likely to be the second warmest year on record, behind 2024.
This was reported by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The temperature in October was 0.90 °C higher than the average for this month for the period 1991-2020. The previous record was set in 2023, when the deviation was +0.85 °C.
Compared to the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, the temperature was 1.75 °C higher. This is the third consecutive month that the global indicator has exceeded +1.5 °C.
The average surface temperature of the oceans outside the polar regions also broke the record for October at +20.95 °C. This is the fourth consecutive month when the highest ocean temperature has been recorded for the corresponding month.
One of the reasons for the additional warming is the strengthening of the El Niño phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It warms the ocean surface and affects the weather in different regions of the world.
At the same time, Copernicus emphasizes that El Niño is amplifying the warming of the climate that is already occurring due to human activities.
In the first 10 months of 2026, the average global temperature was 0.64 °C above the 1991–2020 average. According to the Copernicus forecast, 2026 is likely to be the second warmest year on record after 2024, with a probability of about 20%.
October in Europe was the second warmest on record. The average land temperature was +11.08 °C, 1.49 °C above the 1991-2020 average for the month. The largest deviations from the norm were recorded in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. In Ukraine, temperatures were 6 °C above average in some places.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.