Last month was the warmest October EVER recorded globally - as scientists warn the record-breaking El Niño is supercharging the climate crisis

Last month was the hottest October ever recorded worldwide, scientists have revealed, amid warnings that a record-breaking El Niño is adding fuel to an already overheating planet. New figures from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that October 2026 was the warmest October on record, with a global average surface air temperature of 15.35°C (59.63°F). That put temperatures 1.75°C (3.15°F) above pre-industrial levels and marked the third consecutive month to breach the crucial 1.5°C (2.7°F) threshold.

The findings come amid growing concern that global warming is accelerating as human-caused climate change combines with an exceptionally powerful El Niño. Experts say the climate phenomenon is helping to drive temperatures even higher by releasing additional heat from the Pacific Ocean into the atmosphere. Britons also felt the impact of the month's climatic extremes. According to the Met Office , October was warmer, wetter and sunnier than average across the UK, with temperatures averaging 10.6°C (51°F), some 0.9°C (1.6°F) above normal.

Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said: 'October has continued the pattern of remarkable global warmth, with record global and surface ocean temperatures. 'An exceptionally strong El Niño is adding further heat to a climate already warmed by human activities, while 2026 is on track to become the second calendar year above 1.5°C (2.7°F).' New figures from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that October 2026 was the warmest October on record, with a global average surface air temperature of 15.35°C. That put temperatures 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels In the tropical Pacific, where El Niño continues to intensify, ocean temperatures reached levels never previously observed The stark figures revealed that sea temperatures also surged to unprecedented levels last month.

The average sea surface temperature outside the polar regions hit 20.95°C (69.7°F), the highest ever recorded for October and surpassing the previous record set in 2023. In the tropical Pacific, where El Niño continues to intensify, ocean temperatures reached levels never previously observed. Scientists recorded an anomaly of 3.21°C (5.78°F) in the Niño 3.4 region, exceeding peaks seen during the powerful El Niño events of 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16.

The latest data suggests there is around an 80 per cent chance that 2026 will end as the second-warmest year on record. There is also a roughly 20 per cent chance that it could tie with or even surpass 2024 as the hottest year ever measured. The average global temperature for 2026 is virtually certain to exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, experts said According to the Met Office, October was warmer, wetter and sunnier than average across the UK Europe also experienced its second warmest October on record, with temperatures 1.49°C (2.68°F) above the long-term average.

The five hottest Octobers globally 2026 : 1.75°C (3.15°F) 2023 : 1.7°C (3.06°F) 2024 : 1.65°C (2.97°F) 2025 : 1.55°C (2.79°F) 2019 : 1.3°C (2.34°F) (Temperature above pre-industrial levels) The report also found exceptionally low river flows across parts of central and eastern Europe, affecting major waterways including the Rhine, Danube and Vistula. The findings come after parts of Britain endured a wet and stormy October, with the UK singled out as one of several European countries hit by heavy rainfall and flooding.

The UK received 5.47 inches (138.9mm) of rain during the month, around 13 per cent more than average, as Storm Austen and Storm Boelo swept across the country. The storms saw wind gusts of more than 70mph hitting exposed coastal areas, damaging buildings and forcing the cancellation of transport services. Several people lost their lives after falling trees, flooding and storm-related incidents struck parts of England, Scotland and Wales, while thousands of homes suffered power cuts and major roads and rail lines were disrupted.

Rivers burst their banks in some areas after days of relentless downpours, prompting flood warnings and evacuations as emergency services responded to dozens of incidents. On October 24, torrential downpours helped produce the joint sixth-wettest day ever recorded across the UK. The UK received 138.9mm of rain during the month, around 13 per cent more than average, as Storm Austen and Storm Boelo swept across the country Scientists warn these deadly storms could be just the start of a winter of chaos supercharged by El Niño. Experts say the powerful weather phenomenon threatens to unleash fierce winds, torrential rain and even snow across the UK over the next few months.

Recent stormy conditions are broadly consistent with what would be expected during a strong El Niño year, they explained. But with the climate event on track to be one of the most powerful recorded in living memory, it could wreak havoc on Britain's weather. 'The standard results from an El Niño for the UK are absolutely a warmer and stormier autumn, and then a colder and stormier winter,' Professor Ilan Kelman, a disaster and climate expert at University College London, told the Daily Mail. 'What El Niño does, it increases the likelihood that we will get more storms, and that they will be more intense.'