PARIS: The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced that last September (2026) was the second-warmest September in history globally, with an average temperature of 16.27 degrees Celsius.
The European observatory stated in a report that last month (September 2026) was the second consecutive month this year in which global temperatures exceeded the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
At the regional level, western Europe recorded its warmest September, tied with the previously recorded highest level, while September ranked third among the hottest Septembers in the continent’s history as a whole.
The report noted that prolonged droughts caused record lows in water flow levels in parts of the Rhine, Danube, Vistula and Garonne-Dordogne rivers, resulting in widespread disruptions to river navigation, water supplies and the agricultural sector in several European countries.
In a related context, the area of sea ice surrounding the Antarctic continent declined, recording its third-lowest level in history during the peak of the annual winter accumulation.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said that parts of Europe witnessed once again exceptionally high temperatures following a summer marked by extreme climatic conditions, noting that the continued intensification of the El Nino phenomenon may contribute to the continuation of this heat rise until 2027.
It is worth noting that 195 countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, which aims to limit the rise in average global temperature to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with joint efforts focused on confining the rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. – Agencies
