Have a good week! Here's your Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 3rd lowest on record (JAXA data)...
• about 200,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 880,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,400,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,840,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More graphics: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/
Evolution of May #Arctic sea ice and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies during the satellite-era...
A summary of last month can be found from @CopernicusECMWF at https://climate.copernicus.eu/sea-ice-cover-may-2026
*SST data set (OISSTv2.1) is only available since about 1982
Sea surface temperatures in a key monitoring region for El Niño continue already at record high levels for this time of year. This is due to the long-term warming of the tropics (human-caused climate change), as well as the growing +ENSO event.
Learn more in my upcoming briefing on Tuesday: https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-briefings.
Data from NOAA OISSTv2.1: https://psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded/data.noaa.oisst.v2.highres.html.
Trends in June sea ice thickness across the #Arctic Ocean - red shading corresponds to areas of thinning ice over the last few decades. The largest declines are in the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea regions.
Simulated data by PIOMAS; https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0436.1
#Arctic air temperature rank by month over the satellite era - now updated through May 2026...
+ Ranks: 1=warmest (red), 47/48=coldest (blue)
+ Download higher resolution: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-temperatures/
+ Data from @CopernicusECMWF: https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.f17050d7
Meanwhile, sea surface temperatures across the wider tropical Pacific have set new daily record high levels since April, including a new *all-time* record for this region. 🔥
Graphic from https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-may-2026
El Niño is here, which means it's time for me to dust off and refine my old collection of ENSO-related climate visualizations. Check out how much sea surface temperatures have already warmed this year across the equatorial tropical Pacific. Wow!
Data from https://psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded/data.noaa.oisst.v2.highres.html. More ENSO monitoring indices (e.g., RONI) available at https://zacklabe.com/climate-change-indicators/.
A look at temperature departures around the world averaged over the last three months...
🟥 warmer than average
🟦 colder than average
Data from https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
A look at the recent sea surface temperature trend (annual mean) for the Gulf of Mexico. While there are many environmental factors that impact hurricane intensity, this warming certainly can play a role in fueling more rapid intensification.
U.S. climate indicators: https://zacklabe.com/united-states-climate-indicators/
#Arctic climate rankings are now updated for May 2026: https://zacklabe.com/archive-2026/. Unfortunately, still no data available for sea-ice volume/thickness.
Have a great weekend! Here's your Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 4th lowest on record (JAXA data)...
• about 260,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 920,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,430,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,860,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More graphics: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/
Global mean sea surface temperature anomalies (departure from average) so far this year ➡️ 2nd highest on record 🌊
Data from ERSSTv5 averaged over January to May.
Checking in on the latest global mean sea surface temperature data, and we are currently the 2nd hottest on record for the current date. Unfortunately, I predict you're going to be pretty tired of me later this year with updates on breaking new climate records ☹️
Track the data: https://zacklabe.com/climate-change-indicators/
We are seeing a near-record early melt-out of sea ice in the Barents Sea region of the #Arctic this summer. This is at least partially in response to the anomalous warmth there the last several months.
Map of the general location: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-climate-seasonality-and-variability/
El Niño is here (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml), and it's going to be a highly impactful event! We'll cover what this means in our briefing early next week. Sign up above in my previous post!
A reconstruction of May #Arctic sea ice extent since 1850 and compared with 2026... Can you find the trend?
Data provided by https://doi.org/10.7265/jj4s-tq79
Here are the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄; a potent greenhouse gas)...
February 2026 - 1940.46 ppb
February 2025 - 1933.76 ppb
+ Data: https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_ch4/
+ More info on trends: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx8262
🚨 Last month was the *2nd* hottest May on record globally. This was estimated at 1.42°C warmer than a pre-industrial (1850-1900) average. Ocean temperatures were already record high over the tropical Pacific region.
Summary by @CopernicusECMWF at https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-may-2026
Temperature anomalies (departure from average) around our planet for the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right)...
Data from https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.f17050d7
Sea surface temperatures are already surging to record high levels for this time of year in key El Niño monitoring areas.
➡️ Sign up for our next monthly state of the climate webinar to learn more: https://climatecentral-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/5817787808929/WN_fU86uiw1SbWgZQlqACQf0w. We'll also be talking about the hurricane season outlook.
