The Guardian1 Jul 2026Macro
Automatically composed with AI from the cited sources
On 21 June, ocean surface temperatures outside the polar regions exceeded the previous June highs of 2023 and 2024, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The record coincides with the early stages of an El Niño event that scientists forecast to be the strongest in decades. The prior June record, set in 2023, preceded a period of extreme global heatwaves, floods, and storms, and last year the ocean's heat imbalance reached 23 zettajoules while the rate of heating was equivalent to 11 Hiroshima bombs per second.