According to Copernicus from the European Climate Authority, April 2025 was the second hottest April recorded globally. The last year has seen an average temperature rise of 1.58 degrees since the Industrial Revolution began.
The average global water temperature for April was noted to be 0.60 degrees higher than the 1991-2020 norm. Interestingly, April 2025 was 0.07 degrees cooler compared to April 2024, yet still 0.07 degrees warmer than the third hottest April noted in 2016.
“April 2025 registered a temperature that was 1.51 degrees above the average for 1850-1900, marking the 21st time in the past 22 months when the global average temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels by over 1.5 degrees,” Copernicus reported.
For the 12-month period from May 2024 to April 2025, temperatures were 0.70 degrees above the 1991-2020 average and 1.58 degrees higher than pre-industrial times.
Samantha Burgess, assistant director at Copernicus Climate Change Services, remarked, “April 2025 stands out as the second hottest April, with many months recording temperatures over 1.5°C. The rise in temperatures is largely due to human activities, especially fossil fuel combustion, which has led to significant increases in greenhouse gases. This has altered climate patterns, resulting in more frequent floods, droughts, and extreme weather events.
At the 2015 United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, commitments were made by countries to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages to mitigate severe climate change impacts.
In fact, 2024 was the first full calendar year to see average temperatures 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. It’s worth noting that a consistent breach of the 1.5-degree threshold refers to sustained warming over a period of two to three decades.
Copernicus scientists also reported that the average sea surface temperature in April 2025 reached 20.89 degrees Celsius, the second highest recorded for this month. This temperature remained unusually elevated across many ocean areas, particularly in the North Atlantic region, which set new records.
The Mediterranean Sea was generally warmer than usual, although not as extreme as in March. Sea ice levels in the Arctic Ocean were reported at 3% below the average, marking the sixth lowest monthly range in April in 47 years of satellite data. Furthermore, four months in this period have also recorded low values.
In the Antarctic, sea ice was 10% below average, making it the tenth lowest recorded for April.
