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September heat sets new records across Western Europe
Copernicus says the month was the warmest on record in the west of the continent, while sea temperatures also reached a new high
September may have brought the first hints of autumn, but the figures tell a very different story. Western Europe experienced its warmest September on record this year, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.Across Europe as a whole, it was the continent’s third warmest September on record. The average temperature reached 16.26°C, which was 1.54°C above the usual level for the month. In Western Europe, the difference was even more striking, at 2.51°C above average.
The warmth was not confined to land. Copernicus recorded an average global sea-surface temperature of 21.05°C in September, the highest ever measured for the month. That beat the previous September record of 20.92°C, set in 2023.
Globally, September 2026 was the second warmest September ever recorded, behind only September 2023. The worldwide average surface air temperature was 16.27°C, around 0.82°C above normal.
It was also 1.63°C higher than the estimated pre-industrial level, making this the second month in a row that this threshold has been exceeded. Copernicus says this is a run not seen since November 2025, and one which could continue until 2027.
The new figures follow one of the hottest summers ever recorded in the Region of Murcia, with the heat extending well beyond the traditional summer months.
For Andalucía, the picture has been similarly remarkable. The region has just come through its second hottest summer on record, with autumn also expected to remain warmer than usual.
Much of the tropical Pacific also remained unusually warm in September, with El Niño conditions continuing to strengthen. The European agency warned that this could lead to “one of the most intense El Niño events ever recorded” in the coming months.
At the opposite end of the planet, Antarctic sea ice also remained well below normal. Its annual winter minimum was the third lowest on record and September’s extent was around 6% below average, behind only the levels seen in 2023 and 2024.
For people living in southern Spain, the findings will probably feel less like a distant global climate report and more like a familiar experience. Another exceptionally hot summer has now been followed by a September that continued to break records, both on land and at sea.
Image: Ambi Gram/Pexels
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