Overview
- The global average surface temperature reached 12.95°C, which is 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 norm and about 1.47°C above pre‑industrial levels.
- January 2026 trailed the record January of 2025 by only 0.28°C, reinforcing the persistence of unusually high recent temperatures.
- Europe logged its coldest January since 2010 at an average of −2.34°C, while a late‑month U.S. cold wave and snowstorms were linked to more than 100 deaths.
- Record or near‑record heat gripped parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with wildfires in Australia, Chile and Patagonia and severe flooding in southern Africa.
- Sea‑surface temperatures averaged 20.68°C globally, the fourth‑highest for January, as Arctic sea‑ice extent ran about 6% below average for the third‑lowest January value.