The EU climate monitoring agency Copernicus Climate Change Service released a bulletin on the 10th showing that this May was the second hottest May on record globally, and predicts that the El Niño phenomenon, expected to form in the coming months, may trigger extreme weather in many parts of the world.
The bulletin stated that the global average surface temperature in May this year was 15.81°C, which is 0.55°C higher than the 1991 to 2020 average for the same period, second only to May 2024—making it the second hottest May on record; it is also 1.42°C higher than the pre-industrial level.
Data also showed that in May this year, the average sea surface temperature between 60°S and 60°N was 20.90°C, the second highest on record for that period, just below May 2024's 20.93°C. In May, vast areas of the tropical Pacific experienced abnormally high sea surface temperatures, and the equatorial Pacific is continuing to transition into an El Niño state. It is expected to form into El Niño in the coming months, potentially triggering extreme weather events globally.
According to the bulletin, Europe's weather in May underwent rapid shifts, with temperatures in many areas quickly changing from below average to above average around May 20. In the latter half of May, Western Europe was struck by an unusually early and intense heatwave, with temperature records for May being broken in many areas of France, the UK, and other countries.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, stated that this shows extreme climate events are rapidly turning from exceptions into the new normal.
According to the bulletin, in terms of sea ice monitoring, the average Arctic sea ice area in May was about 4% lower than the average for the same period, the fourth lowest on record; Antarctic sea ice area was about 9% lower than the average for the same period, marking the seventh lowest on record.