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Oceans globally recorded their hottest July ever last month, according to a new analysis. The severe ocean heat was evident around Europe, which is coping with a scorching summer.

Outside the polar regions, the ocean surface averaged 69.73 degrees F (20.96 degrees C), breaking the previous July record, set in 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Ocean heat was particularly severe in the Pacific, thanks to an intensifying El Niño .

Land surface temperatures were only slightly less severe. Across both land and sea, last month was the second hottest July on record globally.

Daily sea surface temperatures between the 60th parallel south and 60th parallel north. Copernicus Climate Change Service / Adapted by Yale Environment 360

In Europe, heat records continue to fall.…