Overview
- European Copernicus monitoring systems confirmed that global sea-surface temperatures hit unprecedented highs for June, with peak values recorded on June 21 in two independent datasets.
- The two Copernicus services reported slightly different peaks—about 20.86°C from the Copernicus Climate Change Service and roughly 21.0°C from the Copernicus Marine Service—but both exceed the June records set in 2023 and 2024.
- Scientists link the record ocean heat to the overlap of a newly declared El Niño event and an elevated baseline from human-caused greenhouse‑gas warming, with NOAA and Copernicus model guidance suggesting El Niño may strengthen later this year.
- The first half of 2026 saw prolonged marine heatwaves affecting roughly 82% of the ocean and regional hotspots in the Mediterranean, central North Atlantic and equatorial Pacific, raising risks of coral bleaching, marine mortality and disrupted fisheries.
- Experts say the record raises strong odds of more global and regional temperature records, stronger storms and altered rainfall patterns in 2026–2027, and they are closely watching whether the spike is a short El Niño boost or the start of a sustained higher baseline driven by accumulated ocean heat.