ocean surface temperature reached record high for February

This is an alarming new climate record. The ocean surface temperature has reached an unprecedented level for the month of February, according to data from the European Copernicus Observatory published Thursday March 7.

The ocean surface had an average temperature of 13.54°C, 0.81°C above the average over the period 1991-2020. The previous warmest February was in 2016, with an average temperature of 13.42°C.

Nine consecutive months of record temperatures

More generally, for nine months each month sets a new temperature record. The global average temperature of the last twelve months at the surface of the oceans is also the highest ever recorded, exceeding the average over the period 1991-2020 by 0.68°C.

“The month of February is part of a long series of records in recent months, underlines Carlo Buontempo, director of the climate change department at Copernicus in a press release. As remarkable as this may seem, it is not really surprising because continued warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes.”.