PARIS: The planet skilled its fifth-hottest January on report regardless of a chilly snap that swept throughout the US and Europe, the European Union’s local weather monitor mentioned on Tuesday (Feb 10).
The Northern Hemisphere was hit by extreme chilly waves within the last weeks of January as a polar jet stream blew icy air into Europe and North America, in keeping with the Copernicus Local weather Change Service.
However month-to-month temperatures had been above common over a lot of the globe, together with in massive elements of the Arctic and western North America, in keeping with Copernicus.
“January 2026 delivered a stark reminder that the local weather system can generally concurrently ship very chilly climate in a single area, and excessive warmth in one other,” mentioned Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for local weather on the European Centre for Medium-Vary Climate Forecasts.
The common world temperature in January was 1.47 °C above preindustrial occasions.
Europe endured its coldest January since 2010, with a mean temperature of -2.34 °C, the service mentioned.
The US, in the meantime, was hit by a monster winter storm that dumped snow and crippling ice from New Mexico to Maine. It was linked to greater than 100 deaths.
The planet stays in an prolonged run of human-driven warming, with 2024 setting a report excessive, 2023 rating second and 2025 now the third warmest.
