The World’s Oceans Just Hit Their Hottest Temperature on Record — Here’s What It Means for Snow

Riding on the back of an intensifying super El Niño, global ocean temperatures have just reached reached a temperature that, until the last few years, would have been difficult to imagine.

On August 22, 2026, the daily global average sea surface temperature (SST) reached 21.1°C (69.98℉) across the non-polar oceans, according to ECMWF’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The astonishing figure, which is about 0.6°C (1.08℉) above average, surpasses the previous daily record of 21.09°C (69.96℉), set in March 2024. It also eclipsed the previous August record from 2023 (20.98°C, or 69.76℉).

What’s even more concerning is the timing of the record. Global sea surface temperatures normally reach their annual maximum in March and April, following the austral summer. That’s because the Southern Hemisphere is home to vastly more ocean area than the Northern Hemisphere. Yet this year’s record arrived in late August, at the peak of Northern summer, bucking a well-established trendline that is clearly visible on Copernicus’s chart. 

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Copernicus notes that the measurements come from ERA5, the ECMWF’s global reanalysis dataset, which provides daily climate data stretching back to 1940. C3S uses the period from 1979 onward because satellite observations make the data more reliable.

Why the Ocean Is So Difficult to Heat (and Cool)

Oceans have warmed less than landmasses because they have a much higher specific heat. That means it takes more energy to raise the temperature of ocean water than land materials like sand, rock, or dry soil. In fact, it’s about 4-5 times more energy. Ocean specific heat values are about 4,186 J/(kg*℃), whereas land sits at about 800-1,000 J/(kg*℃). 

Other factors also insulate oceans. Sunlight penetrates through the water’s upper layers, dispersing heat. Currents also mix heat. That happens vertically, by pushing warmer water below the surface, and vice versa. Currents also disperse heat horizontally by bringing warmer water from the equator to the upper latitudes, and vice versa. Meanwhile, land is opaque and stationary, and heat is confined to the surface. Additionally, the ocean loses a large amount of heat through ongoing evaporation, which cools the surface.

Oceans have warmed less from a numerical standpoint – ~.1℃ of warming vs. 1.81℃ on land. However, due to their high specific heat and dominance on Earth’s surface (~70% of the surface area), the world’s oceans have absorbed the vast majority of the excess heat trapped by the Earth’s atmosphere. 

Global Ocean Temperatures: Up and Up

The result is a long-term upward trend in sea surface temperatures. The current El Niño is occurring under a backdrop of these rising temperatures. The combination of these two factors produced the record reading.

“This record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress,” said Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF. “El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming. As ocean temperatures continue to rise, the risks to marine ecosystems and coastal communities also increase. The consequences are already visible: the number of marine heatwave days globally has more than tripled since the early 1990s, putting increasing pressure on marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.”

• Related: Climate Change: Ocean Heat Content

Could Cooling be Mission Impossible? 

The same properties that make the ocean hard to heat also make it hard to cool. Once heat has been absorbed, it cannot simply disappear when the atmosphere begins trapping less solar energy, which is the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Even if we cut 100% of carbon emissions today and returned atmospheric carbon levels to their preindustrial average, oceans would continue releasing excess heat into the atmosphere for decades, elevating global temperatures. Of course, even that scenario is a dream. We’re currently still producing greenhouse gas emissions at near-record highs.

Moreover, warming oceans could usher in a series of feedback loops. For example, as oceans warm, they become less effective at absorbing excess CO². That means Earth’s solar trapping potential increases further. 

Record High Ocean Temperatures Are Bad News for Skiers

Rising ocean temperatures are bad news for the ski community worldwide. Temperatures this high all but ensure that land surfaces will continue to break heat records going forward. While many places on Earth will continue to receive snow, rising snowlines and precipitation patterns will make current ski infrastructure less and less viable. 

Ski areas are massive investments. The people and companies who built them, mostly in the 1950s through the 70s, thought long and hard about where to invest significant money in lifts and other infrastructure. At that time, many of these ski resorts were in ideal locations to maximize snowfall and terrain. However, rising snowlines mean that, while snow continues to fall at high elevations, lower portions of resorts are increasingly seeing rain.

In the western U.S., climate models have long suggested that increased global temperatures could result in decreased precipitation west of the Mississippi River, and more precipitation to the east. That scenario is playing out. Since 2000, the West has seen a “megadrought” on a scale not seen since at least 800 C.E., according to tree ring studies. 

In Europe, rising snowlines are cutting off lower-elevation terrain across the Alps. Many of the Alps’ legendary descents are becoming increasingly difficult to get in condition.

• Related: Lake Mead Hits New Record Low as Colorado River Crisis Deepens

The End of the Era of Cold Smoke?

Though it’s hard to measure, it appears snow densities are also on the rise. The atmospheric conditions that produce snow, especially powder snow, are very precise. Normally, we need temperatures of around -10 to -15℃ (5-15℉) to produce “cold smoke” or “blower” powder. This is known as the Dendritic Growth Zone, or DGZ. As the climate warms, these atmospheric conditions are becoming less common, at least where we have currently built ski lifts. billy barr, who has measured snow records in Colorado for over 50 years, says he’s seen average densities rise from 5% water content to around 8% at 2,900 m (9,500 feet) (he prefers to have his name written in lowercase letters). 

But What About Increased Precipitation?

Warmer air holds more moisture. For every 1℃ of warmth, the atmosphere can hold 7% more moisture. Modern climate scientists thought some areas might actually see more snow due to increased moisture availability. This hypothesis hasn’t really come to fruition, and where it has, ski conditions aren’t necessarily better. For example, high-elevation resorts in Japan seem to be seeing snowier winters, but a shorter ski season overall, due to increased warmth on the fringes of winter. Resorts across the world are also seeing warmer temperatures between storms, even when the storms themselves are still cold enough to produce snow. 

I’ve spent my adult life skiing and obsessing about weather. The lesson I’ve taken is that consistently colder temperatures, not necessarily more precipitation, make for the best ski conditions. Of course, I’m seeing that these cold temperatures are harder and harder to come by in our planet’s ski zones. But the recent trend in ocean temperatures has me worried on a whole new level.