Daily global sea surface temperatures surpassed record levels seen in 2023 and 2024 for this time of year. The Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Copernicus Marine Service confirm this by detecting “the maximum ocean warming ever recorded for the period”.
“This record is expected to have consequences both on meteorological trends and on global climate and marine ecosystems”, say the Copernicus Earth observation services of the European Union space program, recalling that forecasts indicate a probably strong El Niño. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) specifies that daily data on sea surface temperatures “exceeded 2024 levels on 21 June, with a temperature of 20.86 degrees Celsius, slightly above the 20.83 observed in 2023 and 2024.
Daily data from the Copernicus Marine Service also indicate record temperatures on June 21, with 21.0 degrees having been reached and exceeding the previous records of 2023 and 2024 by 0.1 degrees. (Omm) on June 2, in addition to the unusually high sea surface temperatures observed in several ocean regions in recent months”. This record warming “reflects both climate change and the beginning of an El Niño event whose intensity, according to the set of seasonal forecast models of the C3S, should reach levels not recorded for decades” states the body. A warmer ocean, explains Cpernicus, “has far-reaching repercussions.
Higher ocean temperatures keep the atmosphere warmer longer, provide additional energy to storms, and increase evaporation, thus increasing the risk of extreme precipitation and flooding. Ocean warming also contributes to rising sea levels and melting ice, putting a strain on marine ecosystems. Higher sea surface temperatures are also associated with more frequent and intense marine heat waves – periods of unusually high ocean temperatures that alter ecosystems and fisheries, impact coastal economies, and can also intensify extreme heat events over surrounding land areas.
Additionally, an El Niño event provides a source of heat to the atmosphere, increasing global temperatures and changing weather patterns across the globe. world”https://gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/mondo/2026/07/01/copernicus-record-del-riscaldamento-oceanico-a-giugno-fa986d55-5950-4531-a5f2-e814570ce098/.”The current conditions could indicate the beginning of a new phase, which will lead, once again, into a territory unexplored – said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service – With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Niño on the horizon, it is likely that we will see further temperature records broken in the coming months”.