Earth Records Second-Hottest June in History in 2026

Los Angeles (ANTARA) - The Earth experienced its second hottest June in history in 2026, whilst global sea surface temperatures reached a record high for the month, according to an analysis report by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released on Thursday (9 July).

The report, released by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), also found that this June the extent of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica each ranked among the ten lowest ever recorded, whilst global tropical cyclone activity was above average.

The global surface temperature in June was recorded at 1.09 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average, making it the second hottest June in history, surpassed only by 2024, according to the report. Warmer-than-average conditions occurred across most of the globe during the month, with several continents and regions experiencing one of their ten hottest Junes on record.

The report revealed that global sea ice extent for June was the fourth lowest in the 48-year satellite record, covering 22.7 million square kilometres, or approximately 2.02 million square kilometres below the 1991-2020 average.

Looking at year-to-date figures, the global surface temperature for January to June was the third highest on record. According to the NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook, it is highly likely that 2026 will be among the five hottest years in history.