Copernicus: February 2024 was globally the warmest on record – Global Sea Surface Temperatures at record high (2024)

Newsflash

Bonn, 07/03/2024

Surface air temperature anomaly for February 2024 relative to the February average for the period 1991-2020. Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF.
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TheCopernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air and sea temperatures, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses and according to ERA5 reanalysis dataset, using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.

Daily global average surface air temperature anomalies (°C) relative to estimated values for 1850-1900 plotted as time series for each year from 1 January 1940 to 3 March 2024. The year 2024 is shown with a thick white line, the year 2023 with a thick red line. Other years are shown with thin lines and shaded according to the decade, from blue (1940s) to brick red (2020s). Dashed horizontal lines highlight the 1850–1900 reference and 1.5°C and 2°C above this reference. Data source: ERA5. Credit: C3S/ECMWF.
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February 2024 – Surface air temperature and sea surface temperature highlights

• February 2024 was the warmest February on record globally, with an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 13.54°C, 0.81°C above the 1991-2020 average for February and 0.12°C above the temperature of the previous warmest February, in 2016.
• This is the ninth month in a row that was the warmest on record for the respective month of the year.
  
• The month was 1.77°C warmer than an estimate of the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period. 
  
• The global-average temperature for the past twelve months (March 2023–February 2024) is the highest on record, at 0.68°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.56°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
  
• The daily global average temperature was exceptionally high during the first half of the month, reaching 2°C above the 1850-1900 levels on four consecutive days (8–11 February).
  
• European temperatures in February 2024 were 3.30°C above the 1991-2020 average for February, with much-above average temperatures experienced in central and eastern Europe. 
  
• Outside Europe, temperatures were above average over northern Siberia, central and northwest North America, the majority of South America, across Africa, and in western Australia.
  
• El Niño continued to weaken in the equatorial Pacific, but marine air temperatures in general remained at an unusually high level.
  
• The average global sea surface temperature (SST) for February 2024 over 60°S–60°N was 21.06°C, the highest for any month in the dataset, above the previous record of August 2023 (20.98°C). Sea surface temperature is defined over the global extrapolar ocean, from 60°S to 60°N. This is used as a standard diagnostic for climate monitoring.
  
• The average daily SST reached a new absolute high of 21.09°C at the end of the month.

2023/2024 Boreal Winter Temperature highlights:

• Boreal winter 2023/2024 (Dec-Jan-Feb) was the warmest globally at 0.78°C above the 1991-2020 average.
  
• European winter temperature was the second warmest on record, after the winter of 2019/2020, at 1.44°C above the 1991-2020 average.

Daily sea surface temperature (°C) averaged over the extra-polar global ocean (60°S–60°N) for 2015 (dark blue), 2016 (light blue), 2020 (yellow), 2023 (red), and 2024 (black line). All other years between 1979 and 2022 are shown with grey lines. Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF.
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According to Carlo Buentempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): "February joins the long streak of records of the last few months. As remarkable as this might appear, it is not really surprising as the continuous warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes. The climate responds to the actual concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere so, unless we manage to stabilise those, we will inevitably face new global temperature records and their consequences.”

Sea surface temperature percentiles for February 2024. Colour categories refer to the percentiles of the temperature distributions for the 1991–2020 reference period. The extreme (“Coldest” and “Warmest”) categories refer to the period 1979–2023. Values are only calculated for the ice-free oceans. Areas covered with sea ice and ice shelves in February 2024 are shown in light grey. Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF.

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February 2024 – Hydrological highlights

• In February 2024, it was wetter than average in Europe in a large band from the Iberian Peninsula to western Russia, and over the UK and Ireland, southern Scandinavia, and the Alps. Precipitation was also above average over much of Italy. Wind and heavy rainfall associated with several storms caused widespread damage and disruptions.
• Drier-than-average conditions were observed across most of the Mediterranean countries, parts of the Balkans, much of Türkiye, regions of Iceland and northern Scandinavia, as well as large parts of western Russia.
  
• Beyond Europe, in February 2024 it was wetter than average over the west and the northeast of North America, in a large region from Eurasia to Central Asia, in parts of China and Japan, in south-eastern Brazil, parts of southern Africa, and northern Australia. These conditions were often associated with the transit of cyclones.
  
• Drier-than-average conditions established in parts of North America, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, south central Asia, most of southern Africa, South America, and Australia, often associated with wildfires.

2023/2024 Boreal Winter Precipitation highlights:

• Boreal winter 2023/2024 (Dec-Jan-Feb) saw above-average precipitation and soil moisture in a band from south-western Europe to the Caucasus and south-western Russia, mostly reflecting the heavy rainfall brought by low-pressure systems throughout the season.
• Persistent drier-than-average conditions were observed in southern and eastern Spain, southern France, in Sicily and the Maghreb, much of Scandinavia, north-western Russia and the regions to the west of the Black Sea.
  
• The period December 2023 to February 2024 was wetter than average in parts of western North America, across Eurasia and Central Asia, as well as over China, Japan, Pakistan, northern India, northern and eastern Australia and southern Brazil.
  
• Drier-than-average conditions established over northern Mexico, south and east of the Caspian Sea, parts of Central Asia and inner China. The seasonal signal over the Horn of Africa, most of southern Africa and South America was also drier than average.

February 2024 – Sea Ice highlights

• Arctic sea ice extent was 2% below average, not as low as in most recent years, in particular compared to the minimum February extent recorded in 2018 (6% below average). However, the February 2024 extent is well below the values observed in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Sea ice concentrations were markedly below average in the northern Barents Sea but remained above average in the nearby Greenland Sea, a persistent feature since October. 
  
• Antarctic sea ice reached its annual minimum monthly extent, the third lowest in the satellite data record at 28% below average, not far from the all-time minimum from February 2023 (-33%). 
  
• Little sea ice remained around Antarctica, mainly in the Weddell Sea, with below-average sea ice concentrations most prominent in the northern Weddell Sea and in the Ross-Amundsen Sea sector.

New Data Tools for journalists and decision-makers:

At C3S two new tools have been developed to assist journalists and decision-makers in obtaining the most recent and relevant data regarding key climate indicators. The first tool is Climate Pulse: an interactive and user-friendly web application displaying key global surface air temperature and sea surface temperature data, enabling users to better understand how our climate is changing, explore different years, and download and share the corresponding data, charts and maps. Climate Pulse is based on the same dataset, the ERA5 global reanalysis, that C3S uses for its climate monitoring and monthly bulletin. The data is provided up to two days behind real time, enabling users to keep track of the most recent weather events.

The second tool is Climate Atlas, an interactive web application displaying the past and future evolution of 30 variables from 8 state-of-the-art climate datasets. The possibilities to explore the application are almost limitless; users can select and visualise the data on a map but also through charts and innovative graphs. The strength of the Atlas is to show future projections for these variables at a global scale, based on the already available climate data.

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More Information

More information about climate variables in February and climate updates of previous months as well as high-resolution graphics and the video can be downloaded here (this link can be accessed when the embargo is lifted).

Answers to frequently asked questions regarding temperature monitoring can be found here.

Temperature monitoring FAQs

The findings about global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) presented here are based on SST data from ERA5 averaged over the 60°S–60°N domain. Note that ERA5 SSTs are estimates of the ocean temperature at about 10m depth (known as foundation temperature). The results, may differ from other SST products providing temperature estimates at different depths, such as 20cm depth for NOAA’s OISST.

Information about the C3S data set and how it is compiled:

Temperature and hydrological maps and data are from ECMWF Copernicus Climate Change Service’s ERA5 dataset.

Sea ice maps and data are from a combination of information from ERA5, as well as from the EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1, Sea Ice Concentration CDR/ICDR v2 and fast-track data provided upon request by OSI SAF.

Regional area averages quoted here are the following longitude/latitude bounds:

Globe, 180W-180E, 90S-90N, over land and ocean surfaces.

Europe, 25W-40E, 34N-72N, over land surfaces only.

About the Data and Analysis

Information on national records and impacts:

Information on national records and impacts are based on national and regional reports. For details see the respective temperature and hydrological C3S climate bulletin for the month.

C3S has followed the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to use the most recent 30-year period for calculating climatological averages and changed to the reference period of 1991-2020 for its C3S Climate Bulletins covering January 2021 onward. Figures and graphics for both the new and previous period (1981-2010) are provided for transparency.

More information on the reference period

About Copernicus and ECMWF

Copernicus is a component of the European Union’s space programme, with funding by the EU, and is its flagship Earth observation programme, which operates through six thematic services: Atmosphere, Marine, Land, Climate Change, Security and Emergency. It delivers freely accessible operational data and services providing users with reliable and up-to-date information related to our planet and its environment. The programme is coordinated and managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan, amongst others. 

ECMWF operates two services from the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme: the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They also contribute to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), which is implemented by the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC). The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 35 states. It is both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service, producing and disseminating numerical weather predictions to its Member States. This data is fully available to the national meteorological services in the Member States. The supercomputer facility (and associated data archive) at ECMWF is one of the largest of its type in Europe and Member States can use 25% of its capacity for their own purposes. 

ECMWF has expanded its location across its Member States for some activities. In addition to an HQ in the UK and Computing Centre in Italy, offices with a focus on activities conducted in partnership with the EU, such as Copernicus, are in Bonn, Germany. 

 
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service website can be found at http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ 

The Copernicus Climate Change Service website can be found at https://climate.copernicus.eu/ 

More information on Copernicus: www.copernicus.eu 

The ECMWF website can be found at https://www.ecmwf.int/ 

This press release is also available in other languages.