January 2026 ranked as the fifth warmest January ever recorded worldwide, according to the European Union’s climate monitoring service. The finding comes despite intense cold waves across parts of the northern hemisphere and highlights sharp regional contrasts in global temperature patterns.
Copernicus global temperature assessment
The European Union’s Earth observation programme Copernicus reported that the global average surface air temperature in January 2026 reached 12.95°C. This was 0.51°C above the January average for the 1991 to 2020 reference period, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) monthly bulletin.
January 2026 was only 0.28°C cooler than January 2025, the warmest January on record. It was also 1.47°C warmer than the average temperature for the 1850 to 1900 period, which is used to define pre-industrial conditions.
Contrasting weather patterns across hemispheres
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said January 2026 demonstrated how the climate system can produce extreme cold in some regions and extreme heat in others at the same time.
According to C3S data, the southern hemisphere recorded exceptional heat during the month. This contributed to deadly wildfires, including those reported in Australia, Chile and Patagonia.
Above-average temperatures were also observed in the Arctic, Greenland, South America, northern Africa and Antarctica.
Cold waves in Europe and the northern hemisphere
At the same time, severe cold waves intensified across the northern hemisphere in recent weeks, particularly in North America, Siberia and parts of Europe.
As a result, January 2026 was the coldest January in Europe since 2010. Average surface temperatures across the continent were 2.34°C below the long-term mean.
Reaction from the United States president
The cold conditions prompted a public reaction from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus on climate change.
In a post published on 23 January on Truth Social, the US president described climate change as a “hoax” and asked rhetorically what had happened to global warming, using capital letters for emphasis.