Fifth-warmest January sees 2026 start with weather extremes across both hemispheres

In the final weeks of January, the Northern Hemisphere experienced severe cold waves as a meandering polar jet stream spilled icy air into Europe and North America (as shown in the visual above). This contributed to Europe experiencing its coldest January since 2010, with an average temperature of -2.34°C. Despite these cold episodes, monthly temperatures in January were above average over much of the globe, including in large parts of the Arctic and western North America (as shown in the globe map visual below). Further highlights on the cold outbreaks can be found here.

In the Southern Hemisphere, record breaking heat provided fuel for extreme conditions, including wildfires that turned dramatic in the second half of January. As highlighted by The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), this included intense blazes claiming lives across Australia, Chile and Patagonia. Heavy rains in Southern Africa in the final week of the month led to severe flooding, particularly in Mozambique, with a catastrophic impact on lives and livelihoods.

Read more.....