Global heat persists: May ranks as second-warmest recorded

With average surface air temperatures of 15.79°C, equivalent to 0.53°C above the 1991–2020 norm and 1.40°C above pre-industrial levels, May claimed the title as second warmest. This month also stood out as a temporary pause in a 21-month streak where global temperatures exceeded the critical 1.5°C threshold.

Europe saw contrasting conditions, with average temperatures 0.29°C below normal, cooler in the east and warmer in the west. Outside Europe, high temperatures were reported across western Antarctica, the Middle East, northeastern Russia, and northern Canada, while India, Alaska, and southern Africa were notably cooler.

Meteorologists observed that the period of March–May was the second warmest on record, just behind spring 2024. Temperature anomalies were most noticeable in west-central Asia, Greenland, and western Antarctica.

However, according to Copernicus, sea surface temperatures in May averaged 20.79°C, the second-highest for the month. It is noted that marine heatwaves affected the northeast Atlantic, and the Mediterranean remained much warmer than average.

Much of northern and central Europe, North America, central Asia, and southern Africa saw drier-than-normal conditions. In turn, regions of northern Australia, Alaska, Russia, and southern Europe saw wetter weather. Copernicus also discovered that the northwest was consistently dry in the spring of 2025, bringing the lowest river flows in Europe on record.

On the other hand, regions such as northwest Russia and southeast Europe saw more rainfall than usual. With Antarctic ice 9% and Arctic ice 2% below normal for May, sea ice levels stayed low.

Earlier, the Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year globally since record began in 1850, underlining the urgency for decisive global action against climate change.