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April 2026 saw the second-highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded for the extra-polar oceans, according to the EU\u2019s Copernicus Climate Change Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Globally, April was also the joint third-warmest April on record, with average temperatures 1.43\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels \u2013 perilously close to the 1.5\u00b0C threshold set in 2015 under the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n The findings add to growing concern that another period of extreme global heat may be on the horizon, with unusually warm oceans continuing to fuel climate extremes.<\/p>\n Why are sea temperatures rising again?<\/p>\n Sea surface temperatures are one of the clearest indicators of how much excess heat the planet is absorbing.<\/p>\n Copernicus data shows average sea surface temperatures across much of the global ocean reached 21\u00b0C in April \u2013 the second-highest level ever recorded for the month. Only April 2024, during the last major El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> event, was hotter.<\/p>\n Parts of the tropical Pacific were especially warm, with record temperatures stretching from the central Pacific to the western coasts of the US and Mexico. Scientists described conditions there as \u201cstrong\u201d marine heatwaves<\/a>, a warning sign of the growing amount of heat building up in the planet\u2019s oceans, largely due to human-driven climate change.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s oceans have taken up more than 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions since 1970, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Hotter oceans<\/a> can intensify storms, damage marine ecosystems and disrupt weather patterns around the world. <\/p>\n Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF<\/a>), said April\u2019s data showed \u201ca clear signal of sustained global warmth\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSea surface temperatures were near record levels with widespread marine heatwaves, Arctic sea ice remained well below average, and Europe saw sharp contrasts in temperature and rainfall,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAll hallmarks of a climate increasingly shaped by extremes.\u201d<\/p>\n What is a \u2018super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019?<\/p>\n