World ocean surface warmer than ever in May

The surface of the world’s oceans was warmer last month than any May on record. “Ocean surface temperatures are already reaching record levels,” said Samantha Burgess of the Copernicus Earth Observation Program on Wednesday. Measurements therefore refer to all ice-free seas.

In terms of air temperature, May was the second warmest month in the world, according to the monthly climate report. The distance to the hottest May yet is just 0.1 degrees.

While temperatures in Europe were average, parts of Canada, Africa and Southeast Asia were warmer than normal. It was colder than the previous average in Australia, among other places.

In the equatorial Pacific, there are already signs of the El Niño climate phenomenon, which can lead to increased temperatures and drought in certain areas and massive precipitation in other regions. El Niño was last seen in 2018/19. The World Meteorological Organization estimates the probability of occurrence of the meteorological phenomenon promoted by climate change at 60 percent by the end of July this year and at 80 percent by the end of September.