May was the second warmest month on the planet, according to Copernicus

Berlin.- May 2025 became the second warmest month ever recorded worldwide, according to the monthly report of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The average global air temperature reached 15.79 degrees Celsius, which is 0.52 degrees above the 1990-2020 average.

Although this figure represents a slight decrease of 0.12 degrees compared to May 2024, it is still 1.40 degrees higher than the average of the pre-industrial period (1850-1900). This difference interrupts a series of 21 consecutive months with global temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold established by the Paris Agreement.

"May 2025 breaks an unprecedented long sequence of months above 1.5 °C pre-industrial," noted Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus program. However, he warned that it is only "a brief respite for the planet" as global warming continues its course.

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Climate Contrasts in Europe

In Europe, the average temperature was 12.98 degrees Celsius, 0.29 degrees below the 1991-2020 average. The continent experienced a notable thermal contrast: while Eastern Europe, from eastern Italy and the Balkans to Finland, recorded below-average temperatures, Western Europe experienced a warmer-than-usual May. Furthermore, May was exceptionally dry in northern and eastern Europe, including regions of central Europe, southern Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. Copernicus highlights that several areas of northwestern Europe faced the lowest levels of precipitation and soil moisture since 1979. In contrast, parts of southern Europe, areas of Fennoscandinavia and regions of western Russia experienced wetter-than-normal conditions.

Warm and dry boreal spring

The boreal spring of 2025 (March to May) was the second warmest ever recorded, with an average temperature 0.59 degrees above the 1991-2020 period average. It was also drier than usual in large areas of the northern hemisphere, including North America, non-tropical South America, Central Asia, and southern Australia. In other parts of the world, May temperatures were higher than normal in West Antarctica, the Middle East, Western Asia, northeastern Russia, and northern Canada. In contrast, lower temperatures were recorded in India, Alaska, southern Africa, and eastern Antarctica.

Worrying ice retreat at the poles

Copernicus also highlighted the worrying state of the polar ice. In the Arctic Ocean, the ice extent was 2% below average, the ninth lowest value for a month of May since satellite records exist. The largest anomalies were observed in northern Eurasia. In the Antarctic Ocean, the ice extent was 9% below average, ranking as the fifth lowest value for this month.

Warming Oceans

The sea surface temperature reached 20.79 degrees Celsius, the second highest value for May on record, only 0.14 degrees below the record set in May 2024. This ocean warming remains a strong indicator of the advancement of climate change and its prolonged effects on the global climate system. The Copernicus report confirms that, although there was a slight thermal moderation in May, the global trend continues to be one of accelerated warming, with increasingly visible and persistent impacts on the planet's climate balance.