According to data released by the European Union Climate Observatory, February 2026 was recorded as the fifth warmest on record , with Western Europe hit by extreme rainfall and widespread flooding. Global temperatures last month were 1.49°C higher than those of the pre-industrial era , the period from 1850 to 1900, before the large-scale use of fossil fuels led to climate change.

Temperature and precipitation varied widely across Europe. The average was among the three coldest in the last 14 years, at -0.07°C. However, western, southern, and southeastern Europe experienced above-average temperatures, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service .

Cooler temperatures were recorded in northwestern Russia, the Baltics, Finland, and neighboring Scandinavia. The United States, northeastern Canada, the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Antarctica, however, recorded above-average temperatures.

According to the report: “Wet and dry conditions across the continent showed a stark contrast : much of western and southern Europe was wetter than average, while the rest of the continent was drier than average.”

(Unioneonline/ns)

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