Overview
- Copernicus reports the month averaged 1.49°C above the 1850–1900 baseline, leaving it just short of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C benchmark.
- Exceptional atmospheric rivers delivered record rainfall and widespread flooding across western and southern Europe.
- World Weather Attribution finds human-driven warming intensified rains that killed dozens and forced thousands from their homes in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
- A south-shifted polar jet stream helped steer a run of intense storms, while Europe saw stark contrasts with Scandinavia much colder even as Iberia and western France were wetter and warmer.
- Arctic sea ice extent was about 5% below average for February, the third lowest on record, and UK breakdown data show a sharp rise in pothole-related incidents after the unusually wet winter.