It might have felt like a cold, wet February for those of us in the UK, but around the world last month was one of the hottest ever.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), this past February was the third hottest on record.
Global average surface air temperatures hit a balmy 13.36°C (56°F), making the month 0.63°C (1.13°F) hotter than the average for 1991 to 2020.
February was also 1.59°C (2.86°F) above the ‘pre-industrial’ average for 1850-1900, making this the 19th month out of the last 20 to exceed the threshold set out in the Paris Agreement.
The data also shows that warmer weather around the globe made this winter the second hottest on record.
The average temperature for the three months from December to February was 0.71°C (1.28°F) above the 1991-2020 average, just 0.05°C (0.09°F) cooler than the record hottest winter.
Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, says: ‘February 2025 continues the streak of record or near-record temperatures observed throughout the last two years.
‘One of the consequences of a warmer world is melting sea ice, and the record or near-record low sea ice cover at both poles has pushed global sea ice cover to an all-time minimum.’
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), last month was the second hottest February on record with global average surface air temperatures hitting 13.36°C (56°F)
February was also 1.59°C (2.86°F) above for 1850-1900, this is the period deemed ‘pre-industrial’ as humans had not yet added large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
C3S, which is based in Bonn in Germany, measures the global temperature using a data set containing billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations.
This provides a comprehensive look at the average temperature for the entire planet, revealing ongoing warming trends rather than local variations.
Their data shows that the planet could already be on its way to another year of record-breaking temperatures thanks to climate change.
Recently, C3S revealed that January 2025 had been the hottest January ever with temperatures reaching 13.23°C (55.81°F), 0.79°C (1.42°F) above the 1991-2020 average for the month.
Last December, November, October and September were all the second-hottest for that respective month, according to C3S, while August 2024 was the joint-warmest August globally, tied with August 2023.
Likewise, the data shows that last summer was the hottest on record and 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history.
Experts blamed these changes on climate change which led to a warmer start of the year despite an emerging La Niña phenomenon.
La Niña – the large-scale cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean – leads to variations in global weather and typically triggers colder global air temperatures.
Although it was cold and wet in the UK, global temperatures were unseasonably hot for the time of year Around the world temperatures were 0.63°C (1.13°F) hotter than the average for 1991 to 2020. Pictured: Beachgoers escape the heat as temperatures hit 36°C in Adelaide, Australia on February 22
This comes after a string of record-breaking months during 2024, which was also the hottest year on record for average air temperature
This year’s Boreal Winter, the period between December and February, was the second hottest on record
However, this February was more than 1.5°C hotter than the average temperature for February between 1850-1900.
This is the designated ‘pre-industrial’ reference period to which modern temperatures are compared, prior to widespread industrialization when humans started significantly impacting the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.
As part of the Paris Agreement, most countries in the world have a legally binding obligation to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average.
A few months of temperatures above this average do not mean that the obligations of the Paris Agreement have already been broken, since the treaty refers to a much longer 10-year average.
During February, average temperatures in Europe were actually relatively cool compared to recent years.
The average temperature in Europe was 0.44°C (32.79°F) – 0.4°C (0.72°F) above the 1991-2020 average for the month.
The most above-average regions included the Alps and Iceland, while large parts of Eastern Europe experienced below-average temperatures.
According to the Met Office, the UK’s average temperature during February was 4.6°C (40.3°F) – 0.5°C (0.9°F) above the long-term average.
The past three months were 0.71°C (1.28°F) above the 1991-2020 average, just 0.05°C (0.09°F) cooler than the record hottest Boreal winter. Pictured: Beachgoers during a heatwave in Henley, Australia on February 22
In Europe (illustrated right), temperatures were relatively cool at 0.44°C (32.79°F), 0.4°C (0.72°F) above the 1991-2020 average for the month. Some parts of Eastern Europe even experienced below-average temperatures
Most of Europe also saw below-average levels of rainfall, especially in Eastern Europe, south-eastern Spain, and Turkey.
Meanwhile, Iceland, Ireland, the southern UK, southern France, and central Italy were all wetter than average during February.
The average temperature for Boreal winter in Europe was still the second highest on record for the season at 1.46°C (2.63°F) above the 1991-2020 average due to an exceptionally warm December and January.
These unseasonably warm temperatures have had a severe impact in the Arctic regions where sea ice has fallen to new lows.
C3S found that daily global sea ice extent, which measures how much area is covered with ice at both poles, hit an all-time low in February.
Arctic sea ice reached its lowest monthly extent for February, at 8 per cent below average – marking the third consecutive month in which the sea ice extent has set a record for the month.
In the Antarctic, sea ice hit its fourth-lowest monthly extent for February as it fell 26 per cent below average.
Towards the end of the month, Antarctic sea ice extent may have reached its annual minimum which, if confirmed, would be the second-lowest minimum in the satellite record.
These unseasonably warm temperatures have led to a significant loss of sea ice at both poles, leading to the lowest daily sea ice extent on record
The sea ice extent in the Arctic hit its lowest recorded level for February at eight per cent below average
Global average sea temperature for February reached 20.88°C (69.58°F). This is the second-highest value on record for the month and just 0.18°C (0.32°F) below the February 2024 record
However, scientists will need to wait until March to confirm whether this was the lowest point of the year before the record becomes official.
This comes after research found the melting sea ice in the Antarctic threatens to destabilise the world’s strongest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC).
As freshwater from the Antarctic ice sheet floods into the ocean, the ACC could become 20 per cent slower by 2050.
This would trigger a ‘vicious’ cycle of global warming and melting ice as the ACC would no longer be able to play its vital role in regulating the world’s temperature.
The C3S data also shows that the global average sea temperature for February reached 20.88°C (69.58°F).
This is the second-highest value on record for the month and just 0.18°C (0.32°F) below the February 2024 record.
Carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect: A primer
The greenhouse effect is the reason our planet is getting too hot to live on.
CO2 released by human activity is accumulating as an ‘insulating blanket’ around the Earth, trapping more of the sun’s heat in our atmosphere.
Without the natural greenhouse effect, heat would pass outwards from the Earth¿s surface into space – making it too cold to live. But emissions of gases such as CO2 and methane push the greenhouse effect too far – acting as a blanket that traps heat
CO2 – and other greenhouse gases – are emitted by actions such as burning fossil fuels like coal for energy, burning forests to make way for livestock and
Fertilisers containing nitrogen produce nitrous oxide emissions – another greenhouse gas.
Meanwhile, fluorinated gases are emitted from equipment and products that use these gases.
Such emissions have a very strong warming effect, up to 23,000 times greater than CO2.
Sources: European Commission/BGS/NASA
