Europe has just had its hottest March on record

Europe has just had its hottest March on record, surpassing previous highs by a wide margin, according to a report led by the EU’s Copernicus climate monitoring service. The data reveals that March temperatures across the continent were 0.26°C higher than the previous record set in 2014.

Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which oversees the Copernicus programme, said that the month brought ‘contrasting rainfall extremes’ across the region.

‘March 2025 was the warmest March for Europe, highlighting once again how temperatures are continuing to break records,’ she said. ‘It was also a month with contrasting rainfall extremes across Europe, with many areas experiencing their driest March on record and others their wettest March on record for at least the past 47 years.’ 

Globally, March continued a trend of exceptional heat, with temperatures remaining at historic highs and extending a streak of unusually warm months that has defied many scientific expectations. According to experts, this current climate period is probably the warmest Earth has seen in approximately 125,000 years.

March 2025 ranked as the second-hottest March ever in the Copernicus global dataset, continuing a near-continuous string of months with record or near-record warmth that began in July 2023. Since then, nearly every month has exceeded pre-industrial temperature levels by at least 1.5°C – the threshold that marks significant global warming linked to the start of the fossil fuel era.

Last month’s temperatures were 1.6°C above pre-industrial norms, continuing a highly unusual climate anomaly that researchers are still working to fully understand. Experts warn that even small increases in global temperatures exacerbate the likelihood and severity of extreme weather, including droughts, heavy rainfall, and heatwaves. 

The effects of rising temperatures go far beyond just hotter days. Climate change, driven by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, traps excess heat in the atmosphere and oceans. Warmer seas lead to more evaporation and increased atmospheric moisture, which in turn fuels more intense storms and shifts in rainfall distribution.

The extraordinary global heat has led to 2023 and 2024 becoming the hottest years on record. Notably, 2023 marked the first complete year in which global temperatures surpassed the 1.5°C limit outlined in the Paris Agreement. Although this breach was temporary, scientists caution that the chances of consistently remaining under that threshold are diminishing.

Experts had anticipated that the record-breaking heat would ease after the peak of the El Niño climate pattern in early 2024, as conditions were expected to transition into the cooler La Niña phase. However, global temperatures have stayed persistently high, prompting renewed scientific discussion about additional factors that may be amplifying the warming.

Copernicus relies on a vast array of data collected from satellites, aircraft, ships, and weather stations, with records dating back to 1940. Complementary evidence from sources such as tree rings, coral formations, and ice cores extends scientists’ understanding of climate trends far beyond modern data records. 

Source: www.spainenglish.com/