The month witnessed intense storms and unusually heavy rainfall, triggering severe flooding across parts of western Europe, while Arctic sea ice extent dropped to the third-lowest level on record for February. The month was marked by a series of intense storms and heavy precipitation, particularly across western Europe and northern Africa. With global temperatures reaching 1.49°C above pre-industrial levels – the fifth-warmest February on record – Europe experienced stark temperature contrasts. Outside Europe, temperatures were above the average across the US, northeast Canada, West Asia, Central Asia and East Antarctica. For the boreal winter from December 2025 to February 2026, the global average temperature was the fifth highest recorded, at 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 average.

Source: The Hindu March 10, 2026 06:27 UTC