El Niño

Global sea surface temperatures reached an unprecedented 21.1°C on Aug. 22, surpassing the previous record of 21.09°C set in March 2024, according to new data. The spike is unusual because ocean temperatures typically peak in March and April, not August. Scientists attribute the anomaly to a combination of climate change and a developing strong El Niño, with studies suggesting oceans may not have been this warm for as much as 125,000 years.

Waters around the Iberian Peninsula are heating 67% faster than the global average, rising at 0.25°C per decade, according to Greenpeace. The Mediterranean exceeded 33°C for the first time, while the Cantabrian Sea broke 28°C for the first time since 1990. Twelve monitoring buoys recorded historic heat records this summer.

Marine heat waves worldwide have more than tripled since the early 1990s, threatening marine ecosystems and contributing to higher sea levels.

Exceptional heatwaves across Europe have driven more than 30,000 excess deaths in recent months, provisional data shows, with the continent enduring repeated spells of extreme temperatures and drought this summer.

The European mortality monitoring platform EuroMomo estimates over 32,000 excess deaths occurred between mid-June and mid-August, while an AFP tally across eight countries — Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, England, the Netherlands, Austria and Portugal — put the combined figure at 33,000 excess or heat-attributable deaths. The last week of June was the deadliest period, with nearly 16,000 excess deaths recorded in a single week.

Germany bore the heaviest toll, where the Robert Koch Institute recorded approximately 14,000 heat-related deaths by early August — the highest since tracking began in 2016. France reported 7,300 excess deaths between late May and late July, while Spain logged nearly 4,500 heat-attributable fatalities, its worst figure for the period since 2022.